MLB insider pours cold water on Ronald Acuña's 'Brave for life' comment

Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. is in an ideal spot -- fresh off winning the NL MVP for arguably the best team in the National League. Acuña made Braves fans dreams come true this week, when he told the media he wants to stay in Atlanta for the rest of his career.

"It's not a secret that I want to be a Brave for life. It's my hope that we can make that happen soon," Acuña said.

Acuña is underpaid given what he brings to the table. The star right fielder signed an eight-year, $100 million deal prior to the 2019 season. At that point, Acuña bet on himself, but little did he know the deal would be harshly criticized in the years to come.

While Acuña is open to a new contract which makes him among the highest-paid players in the sport, the Braves are under no pressure to oblige. Acuña is under contract through 2028 thanks to two team options at the end of his deal. He'll be 30 years old by then, a benchmark the Braves often use to part ways with their star players. Bob Nightengale of USA Today threw cold water on any notion Atlanta would extend Acuña now.

"NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. says he’d love to get a contract extension and stay with Atlanta the rest of his career, but Atlanta will wait. They have him under contract for $17 million a year through 2026, and two option years at $17 million in 2027-2028. The total value of the contract will be worth $124 million over 10 years for one of the game’s greatest players."

Ronald Acuña extension with Braves won't happen anytime soon

A new contract for Acuña could cost the Braves near $300 million, if not more. It would limit their ability to add talent around Acuña, and defeats the entire purpose of taking chances on young players with long-term, sometimes team-friendly deals.

Yes, Acuña's contract looks bad in retrospect, but at the time it wasn't viewed in the same light. The Braves took a risk on a young player, and it worked. That isn't always the case, though.

Hopefully Alex Anthopoulos and Acuña can reach an understanding when the time comes, but that time is not now.