Anthopoulos shuts down Ronald Acuña Jr. trade talk, calling it “zero”

Atlanta Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos rejected any suggestion that the club will trade Ronald Acuña Jr. this offseason, saying there is “zero” smoke and explicitly telling a reporter, “Absolutely not.”

Anthopoulos said the organization views Acuña as part of the core that needs to be added around, not moved. “We need him,” he said, while also emphasizing the club’s need to build additional depth beyond its star.

As he looked ahead to discussions during the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, Anthopoulos pointed to multiple roster areas the Braves will evaluate, including replenishing the starting rotation, filling a shortstop void, and determining how to address left field, along with bullpen needs.

The Braves’ offseason planning is occurring after what Anthopoulos described as a bounce-back opportunity for Acuña following an injury-marred season. The team reported Acuña played 107 games, hitting.255 with 20 homers, 21 stolen bases, and a.796 OPS.

The Braves’ front office also framed Acuña’s health timeline as a key context for 2023 NL MVP-level expectations, citing two left hamstring strains that cost him nearly two months on the injured list, along with prior ACL injuries in earlier seasons.

In discussing how left field and lineup right-handedness could be addressed, Anthopoulos tied the conversation to the Braves’ broader batting needs. He mentioned possible discussion points around left-field approaches and referenced that Mike Yastrzemski could handle a left-handed platoon role, while Jurickson Profar’s potential right-handed fit has also come up as the veteran weighs offseason decisions.

Anthopoulos said the club has “started to talk” about how to handle the type of role Profar could play, but added that no conclusions have been reached and that the issue does not have to be resolved immediately because roster changes can happen across the offseason.