A Braves-Astros trade for Atlanta's dream Ronald Acuña Jr. replacement

Ever since Ronald Acuña Jr suffered his season ending torn ACL, Braves fans have begun to wonder and explore the options of who Atlanta could trade for to help replace their MVP outfielder.

One option, who's been seen as quite untouchable, is the Astros Kyle Tucker. Houston absolutely does not want to trade Tucker and there's plenty of good reasons behind it. They're not the type of franchise to just roll over and quit. Tucker is having an MVP season. They still have a chance to compete.

Tucker is also signed beyond this season, making him an expensive addition. As FanSided's John Buhler wrote in a piece on Tuesday, Tucker is not a real target for the Braves, at least not if we're judging by Alex Anthopolous's history.

"(Tucker) is under contract for the rest of this year and next, hitting free agency in 2026. For as much as he would help the Atlanta lineup, outfield and everything in between, the price tag Dana Brown will command from Atlanta is too much...Unless Brown wants to give his former Braves boss a discount, Houston isn't selling Tucker for cheap," Buhler wrote.

But what if Atlanta offered them a deal that they absolutely couldn't refuse?

A massive Braves-Astros trade that sends Kyle Tucker to Atlanta to fill the Ronald Acuña Jr. void

Now, this is purely hypothetical and speculative. Kyle Tucker hasn't been connected to the Braves and Houston hasn't started throwing him on the trade block. Just to be clear.

But that doesn't mean Atlanta shouldn't make an insane attempt at acquiring the sweet swinging lefty. He would be slightly more than a rental, coming with an extra year of team control, as he enters his final year of arbitration this offseason. That means this trade package will need to be huge.

This deal begins with the Braves No. 2 prospect, the 73rd-ranked prospect in baseball, Hurston Waldrep. Waldrep has incredible potential, featuring a plus plus fastball and a plus plus splitter. He was the Braves first round pick a year ago, so it would be quite surprising for them to let him go this soon, but it's Kyle Tucker we're talking about. No prospect is safe with Tucker on the table.

Nacho Alvarez is the Braves top-ranked position player in their farm system. He's an all-around prospect that has shown the innate ability to hit at a high level, while still being just 21 years old. Alvarez has everyday starter written all over him.

The final piece of this package is the 25-year-old Darius Vines. Vines has the ability to play at the big-league level, but the Braves system is so loaded with pitching talent that he's struggling to jump over the players above him. He desperately needs a new start in a new organization.

As for the Braves, they would be getting Kyle Tucker. They can do without any of the listed prospects for a year and a half of Tucker. The lefty has slugged nearly 20 home runs en route to challenging Aaron Judge and Juan Soto in the NL MVP race.

Now add that bat to a lineup that's littered with All-Stars and silver sluggers and Atlanta has their dream Acuña replacement. Not saying this trade will happen, but it would be foolish for Atlanta to not offer something like this.