Ronald Acuña Jr. may be moving to a completely different part of the baseball diamond.
The Atlanta Braves star Acuña sparked some buzz this week about the possibility of a position change. Acuña was working out this week in his native Venezuela.
In a post to his Instagram Story, Acuña shared a photo of himself playing in the infield and apparently taking grounders. Take a look.
https://t.co/dxEdNkfQYg pic.twitter.com/i8AdvXZ07y
— Calico Joe (@CalicoJoeMLB) January 22, 2026
It is always possible that Acuña, a career-long outfielder, was just toying around with new things during a light winter workout. But a move to a less physically-demanding position might indeed makes sense at this point for Acuña, who turns 29 later this year.
Acuña was limited to 95 games played last season as he worked his way back completely from a 2024 ACL tear (the second of his MLB career). While the ex-NL MVP was still making some spectacular plays in the outfield, Atlanta could potentially look to prioritize Acuña’s long-term health any way that they can.
On top of that, the Braves are extremely needy at shortstop right now after new re-signing Ha-Seong Kim recently suffered a bizarre fluke injury that will keep him sidelined through the start of the 2026 season. Though it would be an unconventional move for Acuña, who has never played a single inning in the infield at the MLB level, he may at least be getting ready for the possibility.
