For Atlanta Braves fans, what is most likely to determine how 2026 goes centers around Ronald Acuña Jr.'s performance and health. When Acuña Jr. is right, there are few players in all of baseball who can impact the game as much as he can, and he is more than capable of carrying the offense. However, after a pair of knee surgeries, it is fair to wonder if Acuña Jr. still has that sort of dominance in him.
Well, based on his most recent comments, Acuña Jr.'s sure thinks that he can be that guy again. Down at spring training, Acuña Jr. met with the media, and most of the conversation centered around how good he is feeling and how the offseason has gone. However, his comments also included a little bit of caution that could prove to be disappointing this season.
Ronald Acuña Jr. feels great down at spring training, but Braves fans may not want to bet on another 40/40 season
By and large, Acuña Jr.'s presser went very well. He thinks he is "feeling 200%," which is a fun sentiment even if the math (probably) doesn't check out there. The questions turned to how Acuña Jr. feels like he can trust both of his knees, which goes a long way towards letting him play the way he wants to play. In particular, Acuña Jr. pointed to his time in winter ball, where he was running around with seeming impunity.
However, Acuña Jr.'s confidence may not extend to predicting another 40/40 season. He was asked specifically about a repeat performance in the wake of some experts predicting a full return to form. To that, Acuña Jr. said, "I don't know about 40-40. But I just want to do my best to help my team win a lot of games and make the playoffs.”
Some of that is clearly just player-speak to not ruffle any feathers. That said, Acuña Jr. is usually very willing to publicly place high expectations on himself, and that he passed on the opportunity is kind of odd. He may say that he is feeling great and trusts his knees, but it may still be true that he is still hesitant to run around like his hair is on fire, like he used to.
We'll have to see what version we get of Acuña Jr. once things really ramp up. The Braves just added a baserunning coach who could be a secret weapon in their running game. However, that still means that Acuña Jr. has to be willing to run a lot, and the evidence suggests that he might not be quite ready to commit to that.