LOS ANGELES — Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar tested positive for a banned substance and will begin an 80-game suspension Monday, for the start of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. Profar tested positive for chorionic gonadotropin, a performance-enhancing drug, according to Major League Baseball.

Profar will be eligible to return to the Braves on June 29 against Philadelphia but will be ineligible for the 2025 postseason as part of his suspension.

Profar, 32, signed a $1 million contract with the San Diego Padres in February 2024 and put together the best offensive season of his career last season, slashing .280/.380/.459 with 24 homers and 85 RBIs in 158 games. The Braves signed him to a three-year, $42 million deal in January to make him their everyday left fielder.

In a statement sent by the MLB Players’ Association, Profar called Monday “the most difficult day of my baseball career” and said he was “devastated” by the news. Profar added that he was tested eight times for PEDs in 2024 and “never tested positive.”

“This is especially painful for me because anyone who knows me and has seen me play knows I am deeply passionate about the game,” Profar wrote as part of his statement. “There is nothing I love more than competing with my teammates and being a fan favorite. I want to apologize to the entire Braves organization, my teammates, and the fans. It is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat it.”

The Braves posted a statement on X, saying, “we were surprised and extremely disappointed to learn that Jurickson Profar tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Prevention and Treatment Program. We fully support the Program and are hopeful that Jurickson will learn from this experience.”

The substance hCG is a hormone that helps in the production of testosterone, according to the Cleveland Clinic, as cited by The Associated Press.

Profar’s suspension, which is without pay, comes after a brutal opening weekend for the Braves, who were swept in a four-game series by the Padres while scoring a combined seven runs — including zero over the last 22 innings.

Profar’s absence hurts the short-handed Braves. Outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. is not expected back from the injured list for another month. Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz have been platooning in right field in Acuna’s absence. With Profar gone, the Braves can also turn as a down-the-road option to Alex Verdugo, who was signed to a $1.5 million deal March 20 and optioned to the minor leagues to get at-bats.

For now however, the Braves acquired outfielder Stuart Fairchild from the Cincinnati Reds for cash considerations earlier Monday and added him to the 40-man roster. He’s expected to join them on Tuesday. The Braves will go one player short against the Dodgers Monday night.

The New York Mets have traded outfielder Alexander Canario to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations, the Pirates announced on Monday.

Canario was designated for assignment Thursday hours before the Mets’ season opener. He had traveled with the club from spring training in Florida to Houston last week to participate in the Mets’ workout Wednesday, but the team’s outfield glut rendered him a long shot to make the roster.

New York’s Opening Day roster included six outfielders: Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo, Tyrone Taylor, Jose Siri, Starling Marte and Jesse Winker. Despite a strong camp, there just wasn’t room for Canario, who was out of minor-league options.

Jose Azocar, another outfielder, was also designated for assignment by the Mets on Thursday. The 28-year-old Azocar, however, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse.

Canario’s combination of youth — he’s 24 years old — and tools made him attractive to other teams. The right-handed hitter, who was traded from the San Francisco Giants to the Chicago Cubs in July 2021 as part of a trade for Kris Bryant, made his major-league debut with the Cubs in 2023. He appeared in 21 games for the team over the last two seasons, batting .286 with two home runs and two doubles in 45 plate appearances.

The Cubs designated Canario for assignment in late February to make room on their 40-man roster for Justin Turner. The Mets acquired him for cash days later. Canario reported straight to Port St. Lucie for spring training where he slashed .306/.419/.611 with three home runs in 17 games. He’ll now be with his third organization in just over a month.

CHICAGO — Martin Perez figured he had enough left to remain in the game a little longer. He also knew he couldn’t go the distance.

The veteran left-hander threw six no-hit innings and tied a career high with nine strikeouts in a sparkling Chicago debut, helping the White Sox roll past the Minnesota Twins 9-0 on Monday.

“They asked me how I feel,” Perez said. “I told them I feel great. But I was honest, too. I mean, there’s no way I could go three more innings. It’s too early. It’s a long season.”

Perez began his afternoon by getting Byron Buxton to ground out on the game’s first pitch. He ended it by catching Ty France looking at a 2-2 cutter.

Perez threw 93 pitches and walked three. He retired the first 11 batters before walking Ryan Jeffers and hitting France on the next pitch, but got out of that jam when he caught Jose Miranda looking at a 3-2 cutter.

Perez kept the Twins off balance with cutters, sinkers, changeups and curves. He consistently hit the corners, but never hit 90 mph.

“I don’t have the velocity anymore, but I know how to pitch, I know how to move the ball,” he said.

The Twins’ only hits were singles by Willi Castro and Jeffers in the seventh and eighth against Mike Vasil in his major league debut.

Perez, who turns 34 on Friday, was an All-Star with Texas in 2022 and helped the Rangers win the World Series the following year. He pitched for Pittsburgh and San Diego last season before signing a $5 million, one-year contract with Chicago in January.

The White Sox sure will take more performances like this.

Perez joined Boston’s Hideo Nomo in 2001 as the only major leaguers since 1901 to toss six or more hitless innings while striking out at least nine while debuting with a new team.

“That’s Martin. He knows how to pitch,” said White Sox manager Will Venable, Boston’s bench coach in 2021 when Pérez was with the Red Sox. “I’ve seen it a lot. To have him continue this nice run of starting pitching was great.”

Through four games, the White Sox have a 0.75 ERA. Their starters have combined for 23 innings without an earned run, the longest stretch to start a season in franchise history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The previous mark was 21 in 1947. Chicago also matched Toronto in 2019, San Francisco in 2013 and Milwaukee in 1976 for the longest season-opening streak in the major leagues since 1913, according to Elias.

The terrific outing by Perez comes on the heels of a stellar showing by the starters in the season-opening series against the Los Angeles Angels. Rookie Sean Burke went six scoreless innings in an opening day win, and though the White Sox dropped the next two games, the starters did their job. Jonathan Cannon tossed five shutout innings in Saturday’s 1-0 loss, and Davis Martin allowed two unearned runs in six innings on Sunday.

“I think it’s really awesome when you’re out there in the bullpen and all the starters are doing what they’re doing,” Vasil said. “It’s very, very impressive. Obviously, as a pitcher on this staff, you want to be known as a team with a great pitching staff. So far, I think that’s exactly what we have. So that’s definitely a positive, positive thing.”