Ronald Acuña Jr. is having the time of his life back home in his native Venezuela this offseason.
An offseason in which Ronald Acuña Jr. is fully healthy is exactly what the Atlanta Braves needed.
Acuña missed the second half of the 2021 MLB season after tearing his ACL. Although he battled through it a season ago, Acuña was not the same five-tool player he had been prior to ripping his knee to shreds on the loanDepot Park warning track in Miami right before the All-Star Game. However, Acuña seems to be back to his old self playing ball with friends in his native Venezuela.
Watching him mash baseballs at the sandlot has Braves Country thinking one thing: 2023 NL MVP.
Ronald Acuña Jr. is a massive bounce-back candidate for the 2023 Atlanta Braves
Despite losing franchise cornerstones Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson to other NL club in back-to-back free agency cycles, Atlanta is still one of the better teams in baseball. The Braves may still have a few rosters holes to fill (shortstop, left field, etc.), but a fully healthy Acuña, as well as a fully healthy Ozzie Albies, could propel this team back to winning over 100 games once again.
In a free agency period where other clubs are spending dollars like Monopoly money, Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos has not been willing to compromise the organization’s future for the short-term, feel-good hit of an overpriced blockbuster free agent signing. We will see how it all works out, but Anthopoulos has a plan, one that includes Acuña ascending to an MVP level.
While the National League is loaded and the defending World Series champion Houston Astros are a total wagon over in the Junior Circuit, the Braves are once again on a shortlist of teams who can realistically win the 2023 Fall Classic. As with anything, luck has to be on your side come postseason. However, a team can make its own luck by having more good players, such as Acuña.
How Acuña plays another season removed from his knee injury will massively impact the Braves.
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