Atlanta Braves: Why Ronald Acuna Jr. Being Optioned isn’t a Problem
By Kit Anderson
Ronald Acuna Jr. has been sent down to the minor leagues by the Atlanta Braves. The move was expected despite the fact that Acuna had been lighting up Spring Training.
For the Atlanta Braves front office sending Acuna down is all about his own “developmental pace” Giving the rookie more seasoning that he so obviously doesn’t need. Forget impatience and looking from the Braves’ perspective it is the right move.
Acuna very well could be a future super star. A star that fans would far rather see an extra season of then two weeks early. Keeping him down isn’t about his development at all. It is about the extra year of control that it brings.
For Braves’ fans this may seem unfair and frustrating but it is the right move for a front office that is backed by very little money. A mid-market team that doesn’t spend on free agents needs to covet every year of it’s own stars that they can and that is exactly what the Braves are doing.
This brings up the problem of manipulating service time that has bugged the player’s association for some time. It is a problem that isn’t going away.
It also isn’t as dramatic of a problem as it is made out to be. Guaranteed contracts are what makes baseball so lucrative that along with the fact that if Acuna is half as good as expected he will make more money than he can spend either from the Braves or the open market.
Unlike football where young star players are often playing on rookie deals, deals that they can be cut from right before they make their money. The point is no the system is perfect and the Braves are doing the right thing keeping Acuna for the extra year.
Ronald Acuna Jr. is a future Atlanta Braves star and because of that and the fact that Braves are not ready to contend just yet an extra two weeks will be well worth another full season of the outfielder.
Acuna could help to infuse excitement into the roster as well after the initial wave of excitement from opening week has worn off.
More updates to come as the Braves continue to make decisions on who will open the season as a part of their 25-man roster.