Profar was suspended by Major League Baseball on Tuesday following his second positive test for a performance-enhancing drug.
Profar, an outfielder and designated hitter, was expected to be a regular, perhaps as the No. 2 hitter behind Ronald Acuña Jr., in Atlanta's lineup. Weiss, speaking to reporters before Wednesday's exhibition game against Team Colombia in North Port, Florida, said the Braves could overcome losing Profar just as they won the 2021 World Series after losing Acuña to a knee injury.
“The moral of the story is something good is likely to come from the bad news,” Weiss said. “It just tends to happen that way. Someone’s gonna step up, someone’s gonna get an opportunity. In 2021, the day we lost Ronald, nobody’s picking that option. And nobody’s taking this option. But guess what, and I truly believe that something good will come of this.”
Weiss had been the Braves' bench coach since 2018 before he was named the manager on Nov. 3, following Brian Snitker's retirement.
Profar tested positive for exogenous testosterone and its metabolites, the commissioner’s office said, which means testosterone that was not produced by his body. Because it was a second offense, the length of Profar’s suspension was 162 games.
Weiss said he has to prepare to be without Profar all season even though Profar will appeal the suspension.
An All-Star in 2024, Profar was suspended for 80 games last March 31 following a positive test for Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG), a hormone that helps production of testosterone. He issued a statement then saying: “I would never willingly take a banned substance, but I take full responsibility and accept MLB’s decision.”
Catcher Drake Baldwin, the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year, was the designated hitter on Wednesday. Weiss said he expects his designated hitter spot to be “fairly fluid” without Profar.
Weiss said “I feel really good” the Braves signed left fielder Mike Yastrzemski to a $23 million, two-year deal in the offseason. Yastrzemski, Acuña and Michael Harris are expected to be the team's starting outfielders. Profar might have shared time with Yastrzemski in left field on days Baldwin was the designated hitter. Now Eli White may serve as the fourth outfielder.
Mauricio Dubon will open the season as the starting shortstop while Ha-Seong Kim recovers from a finger injury. When Kim returns, Dubon could be another option in the outfield.
Weiss insisted Profar's suspension “doesn’t change anything we do here. We’re getting ready for our season, and it doesn’t change anything about our camp. There’ll be opportunities created because of this. It’s not something that we would choose but that’s where we’re at, and it’s onward. That’s the message, and we have a professional group. They’re handling it really well and very focused.”
Weiss said he has not talked with Profar, who he recently praised for his leadership after returning from last year's suspension.
“Look, I said that and I talked about him winning me over last year and he did,” Weiss said. “I’m not gonna change that. The fact of the matter is he was a really good teammate last year, and was a good player for us, was a leader in our clubhouse, you know? And that’s what I said. None of us saw this coming. So yeah, I stand by what I said at that point in time. And again, we’ll let this (appeal) process play out.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss (22) walks in the dugout during a rain delay before a spring training baseball game against the Minnesota Twins in North Port, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
FILE - Atlanta Braves' Jurickson Profar reacts during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
FILE - Atlanta Braves' Jurickson Profar reacts after fouling off a pitch during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is rebounding Wednesday from two days of punishing swings after oil prices stopped spiking and reports gave encouraging updates on the economy.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8% in afternoon trading and is on track to claw back most of its loss since the war with Iran began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 256 points, or 0.5%, as of 1:18 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% higher.
The strength followed a scary start to Wednesday, when South Korea’s Kospi stock index plunged 12.1% for its worst day in history. Uncertainty about the war has sent prices in financial markets careening up and down hour by hour this week, with most taking their cues from what the price of oil is doing.
Oil prices moderated as trading moved westward from Seoul and the rest of Asia to Europe and across the Atlantic. After briefly topping $84 per barrel, the price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, eased back to $81.51, a gain of just 0.1%. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.5% to $74.90.
Stocks also got a boost from increased hopes for the U.S. economy.
One report said growth for U.S. businesses in the real estate, finance and other services industries accelerated last month at the fastest pace since the summer of 2022. Encouragingly for inflation, it also said prices for such businesses are increasing at a slower rate, at least before the war with Iran began.
A second report suggested U.S. employers outside of the government picked up their hiring last month. That could be a hopeful signal for the more comprehensive report coming Friday from the U.S. government about the strength of the job market.
In financial markets, worries are centered on how long the war with Iran could last, how high inflation will go because of more expensive oil and how much corporate profits will sink because of it.
The U.S. stock market has a history of shaking off military conflicts in the Middle East relatively quickly, though that comes with a caveat that oil prices don’t jump too high. That has some professional investors suggesting patience through the volatility, at least when it comes to financial markets.
Not everyone is optimistic.
“I think the Iran situation is getting out of hand, and I think that U.S. President Donald Trump miscalculated enormously,” said Francis Lun, CEO of Venturesmart Asia. “The situation is very grim.”
On Wall Street, a mix of companies helped drive Wednesday's rise.
Stocks enmeshed in the crypto industry climbed as bitcoin's price rebounded back above $73,000. Coinbase Global jumped 15.2%, and Robinhood Markets rallied 7.6%.
Retailers and travel companies strengthened with hopes that a solid economy and an easing for jumps in gasoline prices will mean their customers may have more to spend.
Ross Stores climbed 7.5% after reporting better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected and saying it’s entering 2026 with “solid momentum.” Expedia Group rose 4.1%.
Big Tech stocks, meanwhile, were the strongest forces lifting the market. Nvidia added 1.5%, and Amazon rose 3.3%. Because they’re among the biggest stocks in the U.S. market in terms of total value, their movements carry more weight on the S&P 500.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe following sharp drops in Asia. France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.8%, and Germany’s DAX rallied 1.7%. That came after losses of 2% for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and 3.6% for Japan’s Nikkei 225, along with Seoul's historic plunge.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were relatively steady after jumping early in the week with worries about worsening inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.08% from 4.06% late Tuesday.
Wednesday's strong reports on the economy were welcome news for the Federal Reserve, whose job it is to keep the U.S. job market healthy and inflation low. The Fed’s job has become more difficult because of the jump in oil prices, which is pushing upward on already high inflation.
The Fed could keep interest rates high to keep a lid on inflation. But high interest rates would also keep borrowing costs more expensive for U.S. households and companies, grinding down on the economy.
The central bank had earlier indicated it planned to resume its cuts to interest rates later this year, in hopes of giving a boost to the job market and economy. Because of the war and higher oil prices, traders are have pushed their forecasts further into the summer for when the Fed could begin cutting rates again.
AP Writers Matt Ott, Kim Tong-hyung and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
Financial information is displayed on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Anthony Spina works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Anthony Confusione works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A dealer walks near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer talks on the phone at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks past near a screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks past near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A person walks by an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm in Tokyo Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Masanori Kumagai/Kyodo News via AP)
