Why Ronald Acuña Jr. Might Be the Exception to Alex Anthopoulos's Rule

The Braves have made a habit of letting stars walk and finding replacements — but Acuña isn't a star who can be replaced.

Acuña needs to stick around the Braves for a long time | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ronald Acuña Jr. continues to be one of the hottest hitters in baseball this September, hitting .342 with an OPS approaching 1.100. That late-season run got even more impressive over the weekend, when he locked up a 20/20 season despite missing more than 50 games to injury — the third time in his career he's cleared 20 home runs in a season shortened by at least 50 missed games.

Acuña hasn't just been one of the best hitters in baseball this month; he's reminded everyone he's one of the sport's biggest draws whenever he's healthy. Which raises the obvious question: Will the Atlanta Braves sign their franchise slugger long-term?

There are a few layers to that. Acuña is in the final guaranteed year of an eight-year, $100 million extension, with two club options for 2027 and 2028 that the Braves will undoubtedly exercise. But according to multiple analysts, a long-term deal getting done before he reaches free agency is far from certain, given both his injury history and general manager Alex Anthopoulos's general reluctance to make massive long-term commitments.

That hesitation has precedent. Anthopoulos and the Braves have let franchise cornerstones like Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson and Max Fried all walk away in recent offseasons, betting he could find comparable production for less money elsewhere — and largely, that bet has paid off, even if the solutions haven't all come from the same place.

Matt Olson, acquired via trade, has effectively replaced Freeman's production at first base, and a wave of young, club-controlled arms developed within Atlanta's own system has kept the rotation competitive behind Chris Sale even as Fried starred elsewhere.

Shortstop is a bit different. Mauricio Dubón has helped the Braves finally find a viable shortstop, whch they had been looking for since Swanson's departure. But even he's more of a stopgap in 2026 than the long-term answer, with genuine farm system options like Tatie Southisene, John Gil and Alex Lodise all competing to be the shortstop of the future.

Say what you want about those moves, but collectively, they worked. Freeman, Fried and Swanson are all great, even star-caliber players. Freeman is a future Hall of Famer. Yet, Atlanta found a way to replace each of them anyway.

Acuña is a different animal entirely. He's not just a star; he's a superstar, a sparkplug, the conduit every other piece of this offense runs through. We've already seen how much the Braves struggle with outfield-by-committee whenever he or Michael Harris II has to miss time.

Compare that to shortstop, where prospects like Southisene, Gil and Lodise are all competing to be the long-term answer, or even the rotation, where the system has produced options — the outfield simply doesn't have that same kind of depth waiting in the wings anymore. That makes keeping Acuña in Atlanta feel less like a preference and more like a necessity.

Acuña has an MVP under his belt, which he won after an unprecedented 40/70 season. Sure, they've let an MVP walk before, Freeman, an replaced him with an All-Star in Olson. Good luck doing that again and with even better ballplayer like Acuña.

That's why Acuña could be an exception to Anthopoulos's usual approach, and why he'll ultimately open up the checkbook before Acuña reaches unrestricted free agency in 2029.

There's also the competitive angle to consider. If Anthopoulos were to let Acuña walk, which teams are aggressive enough spenders to actually land him? The Mets, Phillies and Dodgers top that list — and even with Anthopoulos's track record of letting players leave for greener pastures, it's hard to imagine him handing one of the game's most electric superstars to one of Atlanta's three most bitter rivals.

The Braves face plenty of tough contract questions, but this one might be the most straightforward. Time will tell, but I think Anthopoulos will ultimately make the right call.

Enjoy our content? Make BravesOnSI a Preferred Source to see more stories from us on Google: https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=si.com