One of the more irritating narratives to emerge recently was the idea that the Atlanta Braves could trade Ronald Acuña Jr. this offseason. Various content creators know that talking about trading Acuña Jr. drives clicks, so they take any and all opportunities to push the idea, no matter how little actual sense it makes at the time. The fervor reached such a point that Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos had to comment.
The GM meetings out in Las Vegas are ongoing this week. With the impending lockout likely to force the cancellation of the Winter Meetings, this is the one chance for all of MLB's execs to get together and hash out trades and signings before league business grinds to a halt.
During a media scrum at the meetings, Anthopoulos was predictably asked about Acuña Jr. and whether or not the Braves would consider trading him during the GM meetings or at all this offseason. Anthopoulos' response left little room for doubt, but that doesn't mean the story won't be very different next offseason.
#Braves Alex Anthopoulos: "We are not trading Ronald Acuña Jr. Put it in bold."
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) November 10, 2026
Anthopoulos said there have been zero calls outgoing or incoming on trading Acuña. Any rumors are completely unfounded.
Anthopoulos added:
"We need him. We need to add to him."
No, the Braves are not trading Ronald Acuña Jr., at least not this offseason
One hopes that Anthopoulos' emphatic denial stops all of the ignorant trade speculation around Acuña Jr. this offseason. For a team that already desperately needs right-handed offensive help, trading away your best righty bat and a former MVP who is still on a very reasonable contract made absolutely no sense. Yes, the Braves could get a massive trade package for Acuña Jr., but the short-term cost would be too much, especially given what Atlanta’s roster needs right now.
However, one shouldn't take Anthopoulos' stance as one that will last forever. The calculus changes considerably next offseason. That is the last year (and a club option at that) of Acuña Jr.'s contract, and his performance next season (as well as the performance of the team) will determine a lot about the Braves' willingness to bring him back, extend him, or move on. It is crazy to think that we are already at this point in Acuña Jr.'s career, but here we are.
It was great to see Anthopoulos come out and quash these rumors that were almost entirely engineered by national MLB insiders that have nothing else better to do with their time. That said, the clock is genuinely ticking on Acuña Jr.'s time in Atlanta, even if this offseason almost certainly won't decide his fate.
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