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.

Shohei Ohtani has another win to add to his stockpile.

After winning the World Series and his third league MVP award, the Los Angeles Dodgers star now has the world’s most popular Major League Baseball jersey.

The league says the rankings are based on sales of Nike jerseys from the Fanatics network of sites, including MLBShop.com, since the culmination of the World Series.

Ohtani leads six Dodgers in the top 20. Others are Freddie Freeman at No. 2, Mookie Betts at No. 4, Yoshinobu Yamamoto at No. 10, Clayton Kershaw at No. 11 and Kiké Hernández at No. 16. With Ohtani’s jersey at No. 1 and Yamamoto’s at No. 10, it is only the second time two Japanese players have ranked in the top 10. Ichiro Suzuki and Yu Darvish did it in 2012.

Non-Dodgers in the top five are Juan Soto of the New York Mets at No. 3 and reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees at No. 5. They are followed in order by Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets, Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies, Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros, Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves and Yamamoto.