MLB News Outside The Confines: Jurickson Profar tests positive again

Good morning. There are lots of team WBC previews on MLB dot com. I put several of them here, but if your favorite country isn’t mentioned, check out the official World Baseball Classic page and see if a preview is there.

• Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug for the second time and is now facing a 162-game suspension. Jeff Passan reports.
• Ken Rosenthal has more on the Profar positive test and probable suspension, (The Athletic sub. req.) which is being appealed.
• Phillies outfielder Johan Rojas is also appealing an 80-game ban for testing positive for a PED.
• The start of the World Baseball Classic just a day away. Here’s a preview from MLB dot com.
• Matt Snyder ranks his top ten teams of the WBC.
• Michael Clair has an excerpt from his new book about the Czech National Baseball team and the firefighter who led his team to their first WBC appearance.
• Phillies star Bryce Harper says that Team USA needs the same kind of swagger that the two US Olympic hockey teams had. Ian Casselberry reports.
• Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino talks about representing Team Italy and how his Italian grandfather can’t stop talking about it. Jordan Bastian reports.
• Brian McTaggart checks in Team Venezuela, who hope to turn around a series of disappointing results in the WBC.
• Team Mexico is a favorite dark horse choice for the WBC. Mexican general manager Rodrigo Lopez talks to Steve Gilbert about why Team Mexico is optimistic they can make a deep run.
• R.J. Anderson has ten prospects and international players to keep an eye on in the WBC.
• Michael Baumann tries to predict who might be the breakout prospect or international player in this edition of the WBC.
• Michael Clair fills out his WBC bracket.
• David Schoenfield wonders how many future Hall-of-Famers are playing in the 2026 WBC.
• Yankees star Aaron Judge, playing for Team USA, has nothing but praise for Giants rookie Bryce Eldridge, who is the only player in MLB taller than Judge is. (The Athletic sub. req.) Andrew Baggarly with the story.
• Bob Nightengale explains why new Giants manager Tony Vitello praised Bryce Harper, who gave Vitello useful advice as he takes his first professional job.
• Jay Jaffe evaluates the Yankees adding of outfielder Randal Grichuk on a minor league deal.
• Alden Gonzalez writes about how Shohei Ohtani’s goal this year is to win the Cy Young Award.
• Sonja Chen asks if the Dodgers are worried about Roki Sasaki’s spring struggles.
• Fabian Ardaya writes that the Dodgers continue to downplay Sasaki’s issues this spring. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Jordan Schusterman has six under-the-radar “x-factors” in Spring Training. Moisés Ballesteros is one of them.
• David Adler has the most impressive Statcast numbers from Spring Training.
• Michael Rosen looks at some exciting new pitches that have made their debut this spring.
• Ken Rosenthal makes the case as to why the Astros should trade third baseman Isaac Paredes. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Jorge Castillo breaks down the Mets big offseason makeover.
• Red Sox second baseman Brendan Rodgers will undergo shoulder surgery.
• David Schoenfield ranks the top positions in baseball from the most talented to the least.
• Mike Axisa has a preview of the AL East.
• Keith Law has his top 30 prospects in the upcoming draft. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• And finally, Max Scherzer reveals the story behind his daughter’s letter to the Blue Jays asking them to re-sign her dad. Scherzer called it the “cutest thing” and added that he and his wife did not send it to the Blue Jays, laughingly explaining that would be a bad negotiating strategy.