Much has been made of how little the top of the Atlanta Braves' lineup has contributed in the NLDS, with Ronald Acuña Jr. being a glaring example. After ending the regular season on a heater, many hoped Acuña Jr. would carry that momentum into the postseason. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet, as Acuña Jr. hasn't even recorded a single extra-base hit so far. Now, Acuña Jr. is making the news for the wrong reasons ahead of Game Three.
Last month, Acuña Jr. launched his own Spanish-language podcast through iHeartMedia about his career with other Latino players as guests and branches into topics like culture, family, as well as baseball. That sounds great, but a recent episode had Acuña Jr. and former Brave William Contreras discuss Atlanta’s current coaching staff, and his response...has definitely raised some eyebrows.
For everyone saying Acuña isn’t talking about Snitker… you be the judge.
— Master Flip | Phillip Feliz 🇩🇴 (@Masterflip_) October 6, 2026
(Extended clip)
Contreras: how are the coaches now that the crazy one is gone? All good?
Acuña: All good bro. They didn’t bother me again. You know that cocksucker thought he was the king.
Contreras:… https://t.co/8ykcETzHkI pic.twitter.com/f8c5ZwDNuA
Ronald Acuña Jr. drags up old Braves drama with Game 3 of the NLDS just hours away with cryptic comments
Currently, way too many people are speaking with unearned confidence as to who Acuña Jr. is talking about here. What we KNOW definitively, however, is that Acuña Jr. did not like someone who is no longer with the Braves, and their leaving made things much better for him. Neither Acuña Jr. nor Contreras gave specific names, and the clip is lacking in details beyond that.
Unfortunately, we can make a few guesses. We already knew Acuña Jr. took issue with former manager Brian Snitker's supposed double standard with Jarred Kelenic running out a fly ball a couple of years ago, so Snit being the target of Acuña Jr.'s ire makes some sense. However, that isn't clear at all, and former MLB pitcher Kelvim Escobar stated definitively on Twitter/X that Acuña Jr. was not talking about Snitker. The plot thickens.
Given the context, it is possible that Acuña Jr. was talking about another coach or even one of his teammates. Kevin Seitzer is no longer with the team, so that is one potential fit. However, the name that is being brought up the most is Freddie Freeman. Previously, Acuña Jr. shared that he didn't appreciate how Freeman treated him when he was first coming up. One could certainly see Freeman as trying to impose his way on that young clubhouse, leading to a butting of heads. Again, we just don't know.
One last thing we DO know for sure is that this nonsense is a distraction the Braves don't need right now. Ahead of a must-win Game 3 against the Dodgers, the focus should be on how this offense will handle Yoshinobu Yamamoto as well as whether or not Chris Sale, with extra rest, can hold the Dodgers' hitters at bay. Instead, Acuña Jr. lit a drama fire elsewhere, and that is absolutely going to become a topic of conversation that doesn't serve anyone well in this situation.
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