‘I want to be a Brave for life’: Reigning MVP Acuña Jr. still hungry after contract was agreed upon
NORTH PORT, Fla. — It might seem hard to imagine the beloved Ronald Acuña Jr. could further endear himself to Braves fans. But he may have done so on Friday morning, when he arrived at Spring Training and expressed his hope to spend his entire career in Atlanta.
“It’s not a secret I want to be a Brave for life,” Acuña said through an interpreter. “I hope I can stay here forever and hopefully we can make that happen soon.”
Acuña’s value skyrocketed last year as he produced one of the most impressive seasons in MLB history. To point out the reigning National League MVP constructed just the fifth 40-homer, 40-steal season ever recorded might seem impressive. But that’s also underselling what he accomplished while hitting 41 homers and tallying a modern franchise record with 73 steals.
No player had tallied more than 46 stolen bases during a 40-homer season. No player had recorded more than 52 steals during a 30-homer season. And no player had hit more than 28 homers while stealing 70 or more bases.
“I don’t know if there is anything he’s going to do that’s going to surprise me,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s going to set records and he’s probably the only one who is going to be able to undo them.”
Acuña has the potential to be great for many years to come, and the Braves have the luxury of knowing they control him through the 2028 season, during which he will be just 30 years old.
Not only will the Braves have one of the greatest talents the game has ever seen for each of the next five seasons, they can do so at a cost of just $17 million per season. The 26-year-old outfielder is set to make $85 million over the remainder of his current contract.
Acuña will have an opportunity to garner at least one more highly-lucrative contract before retiring. It remains to be seen whether he will end up spending his entire career in Atlanta, but there is certainly mutual interest.
“That would be great,” Snitker said. “I’m sure that is the hope of all the Braves fans and the organization. It’s a rare talent. You’d love to see him in this uniform and retire and go into the Hall of Fame with this ‘A’ on his cap.”
As great as last season was, Acuña arrived in camp ready to apologize for how the historic year concluded. He went 2-for-14 with one extra-base hit (a double) as the Braves lost three of four against the Phillies in the NL Division Series.
“I played terribly,” Acuña said. “It’s not a secret. But it’s a new year. It’s a new season. So, I’ll just continue to work and to focus on taking this new opportunity to go further and do better this season.”
Acuña exited his historic season and began playing in the Venezuelan Winter League. He played 21 games, including one on the night he was named the NL MVP in November.
“It helps you mature as a baseball player and develop as a baseball player,” Acuña said. “It’s a league full of veterans there. The environment and adrenaline is different. I think the opportunity to develop and mature there is very important.”
Could Acuña actually be more productive during this upcoming season? One of the most impressive aspects of his impressive season was his ability to continue being a power threat while reducing his strikeout rate to 11.4%. This number never rested below 23.6% during any of his five previous seasons.
“You can’t set any limitations on him,” Matt Olson said. “I wouldn’t be shocked by anything that he does. It’s not like we’re expecting a major thing. It’s going to be a great season, regardless of what he does. He’s one of the best players in the game. I’ll just sit back and watch.”
Acuña isn’t predicting anything specific like a 50-50 season. But he is approaching this season with the confidence you’d expect from somebody who could be one of the game’s best players for at least another decade.
“I feel that as long as I’m healthy, I’ll be able to do some special things,” Acuña said.
