Will the Atlanta Braves put Ronald Acuna Jr. on the trade block in 2025? It’s all the rage on MLB Network today. Let’s dig in.
This isn’t a fun conversation, but it’s being discussed. The Atlanta Braves’ 2025 season is falling apart. Spencer Schwellenbach is the latest Braves starting pitcher to hit the IL with a fractured elbow. He joins Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, and AJ Smith-Shawver.
I was watching MLB Network on Tuesday afternoon, and they discussed the impact of Spencer Schwellenbach’s injury and how it might be a smart move to trade Acuna, like how the Nats did with Juan Soto.
Update: As I write this now, Yonder Alonso and Jake Peavy are on MLB Network advocating for the Braves to “kick the tires” on an Acuna trade.
Update on the Update: Yonder Alonso believes Acuna will be a free agent at the end of next year. His last guaranteed year is next year, but the Braves own two $17 million club options to keep control through 2028. In that regard, Acuna will not be a free agent until before the 2029 season.
The Nationals sure got a haul for Juan Soto. The Nationals received Luke Voit, C.J. Abrams, Mackenzie Gore, Robert Hassel III, James Wood, and Jarlin Susana. Abrams, Gore, and Wood make up the core of a bright young nucleus for the Nationals, all thanks to trading Juan Soto when he had 1.5 years left.
Sale has a fractured rib, and Smith-Shawver had Tommy John surgery. Lopez is out until the end of the year, and by the time any of these guys return, it might be too late for Atlanta.
Ronald Acuna Jr.‘s contract has one guaranteed year left, and he has two enticing club options over the next two years.
If the Braves can retain Acuna’s services for a measly $17 million per year for the next three seasons, why would they consider trading him? Here are the pros and cons of making a deal for Acuna.
The Pros of Trading Acuna
Ronald Acuna Jr. is one of the best players in the game. He’s got a cannon arm, he plays good defense (although he gets poor jumps). You can read all about Acuna’s defense and check out our guide to MLB’s Defensive Metrics like OAA vs. DRS.
Acuna should bring in a haul better than what Soto brought to the Nationals. Yes, he’s had surgery on both knees, but he’s back and hitting as well as he ever has. Acuna’s bat is in rare air, not just in today’s game but in the history of the game.
The fact that whoever receives Acuna in a deal would have him locked up for three years at just $17 million per year will be EXTREMELY, mouth-wateringly enticing. Sell the farm for this man.
The Braves entered 2025 with the 26th-ranked farm system at MLB.com. This would be an opportunity to restock the farm. Yes, the Braves have a ton of guys locked into long-term deals, but those aren’t all working out as we’d hoped.
Michael Harris II looks like he might be on the short side of a platoon with Eli White right now. Harris hasn’t hit over the past two seasons. This is more than a slump. Since the beginning of last year, Harris has played 193 games and posted an 81 OPS+. He has posted an unfortunate .277 OBP since the start of 2024 with a .380 SLG. Meanwhile, he has stolen just 21 bases.
He has been really bad at the plate for 193 games now. There aren’t any more excuses to make for Money Mike.
Marcell Ozuna‘s hip injury has turned him into a bad hitter and he’s a free agent at the end of the year.
Ozzie Albies is in the same boat and using the same paddles as Michael Harris II. Over the past two seasons, he has an 85 OPS+. Albies has 183 games logged during that time and is slashing .239/.300/.366.
Who knows what we’ll have from Jurickson Profar over the next two and a half years? He was a below-average hitter his entire career. Then, last year, he posted a .380 OBP out of nowhere and was promptly busted for PEDs to start 2025.
Chris Sale has a reasonable $18 million club option for next season. So, we have one more year of Sale for sure.
The Braves’ system was previously stacked with young prospect arms, but right now, the future is in question. It initially appeared that the Braves were creating a dynasty, but that may be unraveling before our eyes.
I guess I can understand why all these MLB Network pundits are saying the Braves should put Acuna on the block.
Why the Braves Should Not Trade Acuna at the 2025 Deadline
So, now that I’ve got all that stuff about trading Acuna out of the way, here is my take.
The Braves’ pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries this year. Okay.
Next year, we know we have Sale, Strider, Schwellenbach, and company. There’s your core. Studs.
If Ozuna leaves via trade or free agency, Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy can take up some of that slack. That duo has combined for 20 homers thus far in 2025.
With Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ronald Acuna anchoring the lineup, and three aces in the rotation, the Braves still have a core to build around for the next several years.
UNLESS…
Unless they trade Acuna now. Then, the core crumbles.
Three more years of team control at $17 million is too good to give away, especially with so many good players locked into long-term deals.
Should they trade Ozuna, maybe so. They need to restock the farm somehow. But not Acuna.
NO!
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