Braves Rumors: Ronald Acuña extension, Ozzie Albies injury, Kyle Wright update
By Kristen Wong
Braves Rumors: Extend Ronald Acuña now, reap the rewards later
Most would agree that Ronald Acuña signing an eight-year, $100 million contract extension with the Braves back in 2019 was highway robbery. Can Atlanta pull off the heist again?
Acuña signed his extension just a few days into his second season in the MLB, and the deal includes club options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons at $17 million each. Currently in the middle of the 2023 season, the star outfielder will be controlled for four to six more years potentially through his age-30 season.
Extending Acuña doesn’t feel pressing because it isn’t. Why tinker with the contract of someone under team control until 2028 when ace Max Fried is waiting to get paid?
The reasoning is pretty simple: extend Acuña now, reap the benefits later. The same applies to Ozzie Albies.
The contract Acuña is playing on amounts to spare change compared to what other superstars have received from their respective teams — Trea Turner, Carlos Rodon, Fernando Tatis, Manny Machado, and others all got much bigger bags than Acuña, and none of them can boast Acuña’s MVP-caliber talent season after season after season.
At some point, Acuña may take notice of his peers’ monster deals and decide he wants a ridiculously large extension, too. Should he hit free agency after 2028, he may get his wish and command a contract in the ballpark of $500 million or more.
By extending Acuña now, Atlanta can take a more palatable hit (somewhere in the $300 million range, per one pundit) and not have to worry about the far-off future at all.
Alex Anthopoulos and his brilliant roster-building tactics may have to agree that locking down Acuña for the next several generations of Braves baseball would be sneaky good move. Priorities, priorities, priorities…