Jurickson Profar May be Suspended for 2026. What Does This Mean for Trevor Larnach?

[Greggory Masterson]

Image courtesy of © Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

On Tuesday morning, Jeff Passan of ESPN announced that Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug (PEDs) for the second time in two seasons. After serving an 80-game suspension in 2025 for failing a PED test, Profar’s second suspension would keep him out for the entirety of the 2026 season, including the playoffs.

The suspension is not yet official; the players' union intends to file a grievance on the veteran's behalf. In all likelihood, though, the Braves need to find a replacement for Profar, who was in line to take the bulk of the team’s DH opportunities in 2026 after the offseason acquisition of left fielder Mike Yastrzemski.

Unfortunately for the Braves, options are limited at this point in the offseason. The free agent pool is nearly depleted: Max Kepler will be serving an 80-game suspension for a failed PED test of his own. Tommy Pham and Andrew McCutchen are in their late 30s and best-suited for the short side of a platoon. Other options include Jesse Winker or (if the team is open to a DH-only veteran of lesser note) Donovan Solano and Rowdy Tellez.

The Braves have Dominic Smith in camp already, a lefty first baseman and non-roster invitee with nearly seven years of MLB service time. If the season started today, Smith—who had a 114 OPS+ across 225 plate appearances in 2025—would likely be the club’s Opening Day designated hitter. However, 2025 was the first season since 2020 in which Smith had an OPS+ over 100. Beyond that, he has some experience in the outfield, but he should not be played there except in emergencies.

Atlanta could be interested in bringing in another outfielder, which is where Minnesota comes into the discussion.

The Twins have a bit of a logjam in their corner outfield spots, with Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, James Outman, Alan Roden, Austin Martin, and Emmanuel Rodriguez. Except for Wallner, none of the names listed have shown themselves as a clear choice for one of the spots.

At present, Larnach and Outman seem penciled into Opening Day jobs, much to the consternation of Twins fans who would prefer seeing Roden patrolling left field. Roden, acquired as the second piece in the trade that sent Louis Varland to Toronto at the 2025 trade deadline, is a superior defender to Larnach and is not a young prospect. Rodriguez is having a good camp, and his time in the major leagues may be coming soon as well, which raises questions about Larnach’s future.

Many have questioned the decision to both tender Larnach a contract this winter and open the season with him on the roster. The team has a surplus of corner outfield options and is running a lower payroll than they have in a decade. Larnach’s modest $4.475-million contract takes up a notable portion of the team’s current payroll; that money could have been better spent elsewhere.

The Braves losing a left fielder/DH presents an opportunity for the Twins to offload Larnach and create playing time for younger outfielders. It would also free up time at DH for first baseman Josh Bell, who has a poor reputation as a defender.

But would the Braves be interested? Again, Smith is already in camp, and he had a better slash line than Larnach, albeit in less than half of the plate appearances. Larnach was right around average overall, as opposed to Smith, who was 14% better than an average hitter in his limited opportunities. The two hitters had roughly similar splits against right-handed pitchers, though, with Smith being 15% better than an average hitter, as compared to Larnach’s 9% better.

In Profar, Atlanta is staring down the possibility of replacing a guy who hits well against both lefties and righties. The Braves hadn't planned to platoon Profar, and it’s unclear who on the roster would face lefties if the club elected to bring in a player who needs to be platooned, as both Larnach and Smith do. This is especially noteworthy, because Atlanta will also (probably) platoon the lefty-batting Yastrzemski.

However, the club’s options are limited, and Atlanta’s head of baseball operations, Alex Anthopoulos, has been known to jump on opportunities to maintain competitiveness. In 2021, he made moves to pick up four outfielders in the 20 days after losing Ronald Acuña Jr. for the season—Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, and Adam Duvall. That team would go on to win the World Series a few months later, in large part because of that quartet of outfielders.

Even if there's a trade for Larnach on the horizon, it’s unlikely that the Twins will net much in return—perhaps a middle reliever like Joel Payamps (who is making about half of what Larnach is this season), or a low-level prospect. At this point in the offseason, the savings on offloading Larnach don’t have much effect; the options for reallocating the salary are limited. The objective would probably be to free up space for the other lefty corner outfielders behind him while getting a little—likely negligible—player value in return.

But, I ask you anyway, because that's what we do here: What does this mean for Trevor Larnach?

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[mickster]

I hope nothing more.  I think he is needed this year.   I would prefer sending Outman for a lottery ticket, and then having Larnach and Roden both at Target Field.

[nicksaviking]

25 minutes ago, mickster said:

I hope nothing more.  I think he is needed this year.   I would prefer sending Outman for a lottery ticket, and then having Larnach and Roden both at Target Field.

Outman gets you a year old Powerball ticket.

[Pykkman]

Every time the term “depth” is used to describe the twins injuries change the conversation.   Martin Emma Buxton Jenkins etc all have injury histories.  Keep ‘em all.   DFA Outman at some point if you need too.   

[OregonTwinsFan]

I am hoping that Larnach (or Wallner) is traded (and Outman DFAd).  Would rather watch the young guys have a chance.

[Cody Schoenmann]

What Does This Mean for Alan Roden?

[High heat]

Yes they should be on the phone with ATL right now!!! 
 

I would be fine if they got a bag of balls for Larnach at this point. He doesn’t fit on this team and is clogging up the outfield/DH.  
 

An actual trade might be for Dave McCabe, 25yr old 3B/1B switch hitter who hit .275 last yr at AAA with some power. 
 

 

[Brandon]

We shouldn't be trading Larnarch unless it's for an all-star reliever striking out 13+ per 9 innings making around league minimum.  With. 5+ years control.  Or at least someone of value to the Twins.  Larnarch still has plenty of value.  He hits RH pitchers well.  And why not get value for him?  He is not expensive and is on the roster already ... Now if we use the savings to sign Giolito then ...

 

[NYCTK]

Looking at their depth chart, they already have a corner OF that can't hit lefties on their roster in Mike Yastrzemski, so I can't imagine the Braves would be interested. 

I could see them being interested in Roden however.

[big dog]

I think if 15 more outfielders get suspended then re-signing Trevor and trading him will turn out to have been a good strategy. 

[weitz41]

I'm not a huge Larnach fan but what is with this trade him asap thing. I don't want Outman as our LH DH..He'll (Larnach) likely will produce 20 or more HR's and 60+ RBI's. We have what 1-2 others that look like they will do that? Profar is down. Shame on him. Outmans available reasonably...Braves...

[LewFordLives]

I gotta think if the Twins wanted to unload Larnach for some lotto tickets they would have done so already.  I'm as mystified as anyone as to what their plan is for all of their left-handed outfielders. That said, someone in the front office must still think Larnach has a valuable roll to play with this club.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Trade him please.  Return isn’t important, but a decent reliever would be great. .  Playing time is important for players with much more of a future with the team.  

[Paul Walerius]

This means nothing for any of the Twins players, unless they also tested positive. 

[Riverbrian]

This article was pure cheap shot. 

I am amazed by the volume of this type of ******** bursting across my phone.

 

 

 

[thelanges5]

The Profar situation doesn’t do anything to the Larnach situation IMO. Twins should package Larnach in a trade for Paredes from the Astros. 

[bean5302]

I can't see the Braves pursuing Larnach. Not sure who the Twins sign at $4.5MM right now who will help the team.

[JBK]

Out, man. 

[farmerguychris]

This may the last chance the FO has to help get a return for our overstocked OF.  Don't care which spare OF they send, just send someone for something we have a need for.

[Greggory Masterson]

4 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

This article was pure cheap shot. 

I am amazed by the volume of this type of ******** bursting across my phone.

 

 

 

Can I ask why you see this as a cheap shot, and against whom? Because that wasn’t my intention.

[Western SD Fan]

I came to the same conclusion yesterday when the news was released about Profar's suspension.  Larnach would just not be a fit in Atlanta.  Of course, I am picking up the phone if they call.  I agree with the premise that Outman is the preference to see go somewhere off this roster, but that doesn't seem to happen at the moment.

[Brett]

The Braves probably wouldn’t trade for Larnach for the same reasons we want to trade him. If they call the Twins, it might be for Austin Martin.

[Western SD Fan]

Might be too early to tell but I just read a story that Yastrzemski was pulled from today's lineup.  Now a LH OF trade may make sense for the Braves if this development becomes more serious.

[ashbury]

On 3/3/2026 at 11:30 AM, Greggory Masterson said:

the Braves need to find a replacement for Profar, who was in line to take the bulk of the team’s DH opportunities in 2026 after the offseason acquisition of left fielder Mike Yastrzemski.

If Profar (switch-hitter) was slated to be paired with Yaz, then they'd be looking for a new righty bat.  Connor Joe and his minor-league contract could be had from the Mariners for almost nothing, I imagine; other possibilities surely abound.  I don't see how Larnach fits into the picture.

[nicksaviking]

40 minutes ago, ashbury said:

If Profar (switch-hitter) was slated to be paired with Yaz, then they'd be looking for a new righty bat.  Connor Joe and his minor-league contract could be had from the Mariners for almost nothing, I imagine; other possibilities surely abound.  I don't see how Larnach fits into the picture.

I've been told corner outfielders are required to hit left handed.

[Brandon]

Profar has now given up half his 42 million contract.  He was set for life.  All he had to do was play it out.  He might have had a few more years after it too.  Wow!  

[USAFChief]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

I've been told corner outfielders are required to hit left handed.

They're required to stand in the LHH's battery's box.

They're not required to hit.

[PerfectGame]

15 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

The Profar situation doesn’t do anything to the Larnach situation IMO. Twins should package Larnach in a trade for Paredes from the Astros. 

A package for Parades would look like Larnach plus De Andrade plus Charlee Soto or Mick Abel (If they are even interested in the first two pieces). Parades is worth like 17 million dollars of surplus value. Larnach is worth 2 million according to baseballtradevalues.com I think that is how most of us value him too, worth about 6.5 million in production. They don't value Roden's value as highly on a per year basis, but I really liked his prospect profile when the Twins traded for him. He is having a lights out Spring. I think he will be starting in the outfield. That still leaves room for Larnach as the DH, but I too would rather see Bell off 1B. I wouldn't trade Abel, Soto, or any other high upside pitcher for Paredes. Honestly, I think a salary/roster spot dump should be the goal of a Larnach trade. He has value, but other teams know the Twins don't have much leverage. Other teams can wait until he is DFAed at the end of Spring to obtain him for a minor cash considerations trade.

[Riverbrian]

20 hours ago, Greggory Masterson said:

Can I ask why you see this as a cheap shot, and against whom? Because that wasn’t my intention.

It's just another lets give Larnach away article cleverly hidden amongst a suspension intrigued headline. 

I get the point you are making. Lets trade Larnach to the Braves and in support of that idea... lets minimize everything he has done so we are positive that the Braves will cut him after the deal. 

On 3/3/2026 at 1:30 PM, Greggory Masterson said:

modest $4.475-million contract takes up a notable portion of the team’s current payroll; that money could have been better spent elsewhere.

 

On 3/3/2026 at 1:30 PM, Greggory Masterson said:

offload Larnach

 

On 3/3/2026 at 1:30 PM, Greggory Masterson said:

But would the Braves be interested?

 

On 3/3/2026 at 1:30 PM, Greggory Masterson said:

Smith is already in camp, and he had a better slash line than Larnach,

 

On 3/3/2026 at 1:30 PM, Greggory Masterson said:

Even if there's a trade for Larnach on the horizon, it’s unlikely that the Twins will net much in return

 

On 3/3/2026 at 1:30 PM, Greggory Masterson said:

the savings on offloading Larnach don’t have much effect

I'm not going to stand in front of the lynch mob anymore. Carry on with your torching. 

Larnach is one of us. He was one of 5 professional hitters on the team last year. 

But go ahead... keep stabbing him. 

[Greggory Masterson]

4 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

It's just another lets give Larnach away article cleverly hidden amongst a suspension intrigued headline. 

I get the point you are making. Lets trade Larnach to the Braves and in support of that idea... lets minimize everything he has done so we are positive that the Braves will cut him after the deal. 

I'm not going to stand in front of the lynch mob anymore. Carry on with your torching. 

Larnach is one of us. He was one of 5 professional hitters on the team last year. 

But go ahead... keep stabbing him. 

This is feeling weirdly personal, so I'm going to respond and then let it be.

Trevor Larnach is a solid piece. He's probably been a league-average or slightly below-average option in left field or at DH, but starting-caliber. In many other permutations of the Twins, he'd be pencilled into a role without discussion. But this season, they have many left field options (Martin, Outman, Roden, Rodriguez, potentially Gonzalez and Jenkins) and have Wallner entrenched in right. They also have a few DH options (Bell, Caratini). There's a lot of redundancy on this team. Even waiving Outman doesn't clear up the picture.

And so there have been a lot of questions about how to clear up the roster construction, and it often comes down to moving Larnach to make room for Roden, Rodriguez, Martin, etc. That's not lynching him.

If you've concluded the smart move is to trade Larnach, you have to find a team where he fits, which is limited. If he's a low-end starting player, most other teams have someone better in that role. The Braves losing their DH/LF presents a possible trade partner.

Some of the "cheap shots" you've highlighted are just laying out the scene. It's worth asking whether the Braves would be interested in a player if they already have a player in camp who could be seen as an equivalent hitter. It's also worth noting that Larnach's return probably wouldn't be great, because there are a lot of players in the league who would qualify as a low-end but starting-caliber DH. It'd be disingenuous for me to say "The Braves would certainly want Larnach" or "Larnach could probably fetch a top-10 organizational prospect." A low-end prospect or a middle reliever is probably what he would fetch, if the Braves were interested.

And it's not disrespectful to say that the 4.475M Larnach is getting this year could have been better used elsewhere. The team has a half-dozen left fielders and big question marks in the bullpen. Spending 4-5% of the team's budget on a right-handed reliever seems to be a better use of that money than on another redundant left fielder--even if that left fielder is marginally better than the other options. But at this point in the offseason, the money really isn't a big concern, because free agency has dried up. Acknowledging that isn't an insult.