Ronald Acuña Jr. might not have worn out his welcome in Atlanta just yet.
The Atlanta Braves are unlikely to trade their star outfielder Acuña this offseason, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported Wednesday on the Bleacher Report app. Heyman notes that teams will try to trade for Acuña but characterizes an actual trade as a “major longshot.”
Acuña, the former NL MVP, just completed his ninth season with the Braves. But he had a forgettable regular season (batting .255 with 20 home runs and 55 RBIs through 107 games) and was even worse in the playoffs (hitting a woeful .125 with zero extra-base hits as Atlanta lost in the NLDS).
Now the question turns to what the future looks like for the 28-year-old Acuña. Especially after ACL tears to both of Acuña’s knees in the last half-decade, it is fair to wonder what his production will look like once he gets to his 30s.
For the time being though, the Braves still have club options on Acuña for 2027 and 2028 (at $17 million each). As such, it might benefit Atlanta to ride out Acuña’s fairly affordable contract at least for another season to see if he can turn things around.
Acuña also recently sparked backlash with a controversial partnership and has even been drawing attention with some cryptic changes to his social media page. But at least for now, it seems like the Braves will be content with simply kicking the can down the road on their five-time All-Star talent.
