Ronald Acuña Jr. will be all about self-preservation as he returns from his second ACL tear.
The Atlanta Braves star Acuña spoke this week in an interview with Alden Gonzalez of ESPN. During the interview, Acuña revealed that he plans to be far less aggressive on the basepaths moving forward.
“I’d rather steal 30 [bases] and play the whole season as opposed to trying to steal 70, injuring myself and missing the whole year,” Acuña said.
Acuña also said in the interview that he believes he can now be “an even better player than I was in 2023” with his combination of renewed health and experience. You can read the full interview here.
The 27-year-old Acuña was the NL MVP in 2023 but saw his 2024 campaign come to an early end due to a torn left ACL suffered on the basepaths during a game (video here). Acuña also previously suffered a torn right ACL in the middle of the 2021 MLB season.
During his 2023 NL MVP campaign, Acuña was a monster on the bases with 73 steals. With 41 home runs that year as well, he became the first and only player in MLB history to post a 40/70 season. But a return to around the 30-steal range would be more in line with Acuña’s career averages. His previous career high was 37 steals in 2019, and just before his MVP season, Acuña stole 29 bases in 2022.
Gonzalez notes in the interview that the Braves expect Acuña to rejoin their lineup at some point in May. Cutting down on his stolen-base attempts might also help Acuña devote more attention to his defense in right field, where he struggled a bit before getting hurt last season.
