Braves fans can thank 4 other teams for stupidly passing on Ronald Acuña Jr.
By John Buhler
Ronald Acuña Jr. could have signed with at least four other MLB franchises before linking up with the Atlanta Braves back in the day.
While Atlanta Braves fans are currently witnessing an NL MVP-level campaign out of Ronald Acuña Jr., at least four other MLB franchises could have signed him out of his native Venezuela.
Former big-league pitcher and Acuña’s older cousin Kelvim Escobar revealed to MLB insider Hector Gomez that the Colorado Rockies, the Kansas City Royals, the Texas Rangers and the Washington Nationals were all in on signing Acuña, but ultimately backed out for various reasons. The Washington connection had been known for a while, but the other three feel like newer intel.
Washington backing out was always about money, as the Nationals were probably the closest organization to signing him besides Atlanta. Colorado changing its mind and pursuing another player just seems par for the course for that poorly-run franchise. Acuña’s other cousin Alcides Escobar played for Kansas City, so that was a thing. Texas, well, Texas totally misevaluated him…
If you read Gomez’s tweet in its entirety, you will see four franchises that wish they were Atlanta.
Former MLB pitcher Kelvim Escobar: “The team that was closer to signing Ronald Acuña Jr. was the #Rockies, but they changed their mind and called telling they have signed another player. The #Nationals called and asked how much money was being asked for him, they were told a… pic.twitter.com/h4MhtESrrY
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) June 30, 2023
It is a credit to Acuña putting in the work to get the most out of his talent, but it was always there!
Ronald Acuña Jr. was passed over by 4 teams before Atlanta Braves signed him
I don’t know to what degree this fueled his competitive fire, as international free agency is such a total crapshoot to begin with. However, more well-run organizations will do better in this avenue of talent acquisition than others. International or domestic, the Braves organization tends to get the most out of its minor leaguers at the big-league level, even if their farm system feels barren.
Look. There are always going to be stories like this one where people who don’t know what they are doing pass on something great. Some people don’t know what talent looks like if it bit them in the ass, to be totally honest. Isn’t that life? Regardless, the Braves have continued to reap the benefits of arguably the franchise’s most talented player ever … or at least since … Hank Aaron.
Not to say Acuña would have forever changed the fortunes of the four mentioned franchises who passed on him, but it is simply undeniable what he has done and what he has meant to Braves Country since debuting as a rookie in 2018. His entire Braves tenure has been synonymous with winning. Just now fully entering his prime, Atlanta has an unquestioned top-five talent in baseball.
As for the other four franchises, let’s hope they have learned from their GOB Bluth huge mistakes.
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