Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar is not eligible to play at the World Baseball Classic for the Netherlands after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug for the second time in the past year.
Profar received a 162-game suspension from Major League Baseball, something he plans to appeal, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. This year’s WBC would have been the 12-year veteran’s fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament with the Netherlands. The highly-regarded former Texas Rangers prospect was born in Curacao, a Caribbean possession of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Profar’s replacement on the roster is lesser known and has never reached above Single-A in affiliated baseball. Twenty-one-year-old outfielder Jakey Josepha will take Profar’s spot, a left-handed hitter in the Arizona Diamondbacks minor league system.
Seb Visser of HonkbalSoftbal.nl first reported Josepha’s addition to the Netherlands roster. Josepha began his professional career in 2021, playing rookie ball in the Dominican Summer League. He got his first taste of Single-A in 2024 with Visalia, but had an abysmal .344 OPS in 81 trips to the plate.
Josepha’s results in the batter’s box were much better this past season in 68 games at Single-A Visalia, hitting .235/.342/.359 with five home runs, 30 RBIs, and a .701 OPS. He added 23 stolen bases in 25 attempts.
Even without Profar, Josepha may have a hard path to playing time with Ceddanne Rafaela, Druw Jones (son of manager Andruw), and 11-year minor league veteran Ray-Patrick Didder patrolling the outfield for the Netherlands.
Photo: Jurickson Profar is off the World Baseball Classic roster for The Netherlands after a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs. (AP Photo/ I-Hwa Cheng)
