MLB veteran explains why Braves should trade Ronald Acuna Jr. at trade deadline

Ronald Acuna Jr. has been Red hot at the plate this season after missing more than a year of baseball action following his knee surgery. However, it hasn't been enough to turn around the Atlanta Braves' season so far.

Since his return to the lineup, Ronald Acuna Jr. is batting .350 with nine home runs, 18 RBIs and a 1.076 OPS. Despite his stellar offensive display, the Braves are 39-46 for the season, third in the NL East behind the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets.

With the Braves slipping in the race for the playoffs, the NL East franchise could be looking to let go of some players at the trade deadline. While it might seem outrageous to Braves fans, former All-Star first baseman Carlos Pena is open to the idea of trading Acuna Jr.

"Yes, if I'm another team trying to acquire a player that's going to make a difference immediately," Pena said on teams trading for the 2023 NL MVP. "If he's healthy, you see what he's capable of. He would be a difference Maker and that's the carrot that I'm dangling in front of any team to see if I can get back a pretty big haul. Yeah, I would certainly entertain that."

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Ronald Acuna Jr. made his MLB debut in 2018 and has established himself as one of the best players in the league. Any team trading for him could be looking at a potential franchise star since the All-Star outfielder is still in the prime of his career.

Ronald Acuna Jr. earns fifth All-Star selection with Braves

Ronald Acuna Jr. will be making his fifth All-Star appearance later this month after he received more votes than any outfielder in the NL in Phase 2 of the voting. He becomes only the third Braves player to earn five All-Star selections.

“I really have to just give credit to all the fans, because I missed a lot of playing time and without them, I’m not here,” Acuña said through interpreter Franco Garcia. “They’re really the ones who made this dream come true.”

Ronald Acuna Jr. hasn't even had two months of baseball action but was still able to make the All-Star selection, a testament to his skill and determination.

"Anything is possible with hard work and determination,” Acuña said. “Then when you have the fan base supporting you the way that they did, anything is possible.”

Apart from the Midsummer Classic, Ronald Acuna Jr. will also feature in the Home Run Derby.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash