Ronald Acuña Jr. may be nearing the end of his shelf life in Atlanta.
The Atlanta Braves star outfielder Acuña would welcome extension talks with the team this offseason, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Monday. Rosenthal adds though that the Braves are hesitant to give Acuña such an extension due to his injury concerns.
Acuña, 28, has been with Atlanta for his entire MLB career since 2018 and emerged as an incredible homegrown success story for the Braves. The righty-hitting Acuña has now made five All-Star teams, won three Silver Slugger Awards, and taken home an NL MVP Award in 2023.
But the other side of the coin for Acuña has been his lack of availability over the last several years. Acuña first suffered a torn right ACL in 2021 and then suffered a torn left ACL in 2024.
While Acuña has managed to avoid any other major injuries in the last couple of seasons, he has still been limited to 91 of a possible 144 games played for Atlanta this year due to hand and hamstring issues. Acuña has not even been particularly productive when in the lineup this season, batting .255 with 16 homers, 45 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases.
What works in Atlanta’s favor is that Acuña is still on a very affordable contract for the next two seasons (with successive $17 million team options in 2027 and 2028). Acuña would obviously like some longer-term financial security, and that is not an unreasonable stance given that he is still good for some highlight-reel moments. But it sounds like the Braves would prefer to simply play out the remainder of Acuña’s deal and perhaps consider a trade if the Venezuela native starts to get restless.
