Ronald Acuna

West Notes: Trout, D-backs, Acuna, Giants, Hundley, Holland

By Connor Byrne | September 8, 2018 at 12:30pm CDT

The out-of-contention Angels have arguably wasted another year of control over baseball’s best player, center fielder Mike Trout, with whom they still haven’t even won a playoff game since his rookie campaign in 2012. But even though Trout’s team control is dwindling (2019 is the penultimate year of his contract), the Angels should continue trying to win with the future Hall of Famer – not trade him – Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times opines. While Trout would warrant a massive return in a trade, Shaikin argues that even the best prospects aren’t sure bets to produce in the majors or avoid injuries, using the package the White Sox received from the Red Sox for Chris Sale in 2016 as an example.

Of course, as opposed to shopping Trout – which, despite the Angels’ struggles, has always looked incredibly improbable – the Halos could try to keep him for the long haul. Trout is fond of Anaheim, Shaikin notes, though he writes that there aren’t any compelling reasons for the player to ink a contract extension now. Asked Friday about the possibility of signing a new deal, Trout told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register: “I don’t know. It’s up to them. Obviously you’ve got to finish out the season and worry about it in the offseason. I don’t want to worry about it right now.” Trout added that his main objective is to win, and while that hasn’t happened in Anaheim, he didn’t throw its front office under the bus. Rather, he rightly suggested that injuries have played a huge role in the Angels’ disappointing season.

Here’s the latest on a couple other West-based teams:

Twenty-year-old Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna may be on his way to joining Trout as an elite player, which is a difficult reality for the Diamondbacks, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic explains. The Venezuelan-born Acuna signed with the Braves for a $100K bonus four years ago, but before that, the Diamondbacks believed they were on the verge of adding him for $80K. Junior Noboa, the Diamondbacks’ vice president of Latin American operations, revealed to Piecoro that the two sides reached an agreement in the Dominican Republic. However, rules state a player must officially sign in his home country, and by the time Acuna returned to Venezuela, the Braves had made a stronger offer, according to Noboa. “They accepted it before I could come back with another offer,” Noboa said of Acuna’s camp. Acuna disagrees with Noboa’s version of the story, as he said through an interpreter Thursday: “There was a difference between what was promised and what was eventually settled upon. They gave me an initial number and then afterwards that wasn’t it. That’s why I wasn’t on board with signing.” Regardless, as Piecoro notes, Acuna was not a superstar prospect when he chose Atlanta over Arizona. Thus, whether he’d have developed into the player he is now had he signed with a different team is anyone’s guess.
The Giants would be wise to re-sign upcoming free agents Nick Hundley and Derek Holland, opines The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, who writes that re-upping the former “figures to be a top priority” (subscription required). Hundley’s approaching the end of his second season in San Francisco, where he has backed up star catcher Buster Posey. It’s no surprise the Giants are prioritizing the position, though, considering Posey underwent season-ending hip surgery last month and could miss the start of next year. Offensively, the 35-year-old Hundley has made a case for a new deal by hitting a passable .235/.294/.407 (90 wRC+) in 245 PAs. On the other hand, Baseball Prospectus has Hundley ranked among the majors’ worst defensive backstops this season. Holland, a minor league signing last winter, has been a major bargain for the Giants. After his career went into a tailspin with the Rangers and White Sox from 2015-17, the soon-to-be 32-year-old has bounced back to log a 3.54 ERA/3.87 FIP with 8.96 K/9 and 3.54 BB/9 in 152 2/3 innings (31 appearances, 27 starts).

Poll: How Should MLB Punish Jose Urena?

By Steve Adams | August 16, 2018 at 9:02am CDT

Marlins righty Jose Urena was the talk of the league last night, although not for reasons the organization would prefer. Urena was ejected after hitting red-hot Ronald Acuna on the elbow with a 97.5mph fastball — the hardest pitch he’s ever thrown, per Statcast — on the game’s first pitch. Acuna had led off three consecutive games with a home run. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan was among the many pundits who’ve excoriated Urena for his actions, calling them “cowardly” and imploring Major League Baseball to issue a suspension longer than the standard five games for Urena.

Intent, of course, is difficult to prove. However, it’s perhaps telling that Miami manager Don Mattingly seemed to acknowledge some disappointment in his right-hander. Via MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro:

“What we said with Jose is, ’I don’t want to see this kid get hit.’ He’s a great player,” said Mattingly of his talk with Urena after the ejection. “…For us, he’s beat us up, but this is not the way we want to handle that situation. Obviously, this is not something that we represent or believe in as an organization or myself, too. I would never want that kid getting hit and cause that kind of problem.”

Mattingly did tell reporters that Urena claimed to have only been trying to run a pitch inside on Acuna rather than hit him (per the Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer, whose column also has quotes from Urena), but the manager also spoke on multiple occasions about the need for Marlins players to be cognizant of how the organization wants to be represented moving forward.

Frankly, it’s difficult to side with or defend Urena. There’s a difference between throwing inside and uncoiling at max velocity with an intent to hit a batter, and it appears that Urena chose to do the latter in response to Acuna’s torrid series at the plate. There will always be traditionalists who extol the game’s “unwritten” (and outdated) rules and point to the fact that these incidents have been a part of baseball for decades. But “that’s the way it’s always been done” isn’t a good defense in most walks of life, and the game has clearly evolved.

Urena’s actions didn’t help his team; to the contrary, an already-overtaxed Marlins bullpen had to cover a complete game upon his ejection, and the Braves went on to complete a four-game sweep while Urena watched from the sidelines. And to those who might think that Urena’s teammates appreciate him making a statement, the Marlins’ best player, J.T. Realmuto, said after the game (via Frisaro) that hitting Acuna “worked out terrible for our team.” Realmuto pointed to Miami’s overworked relief corps and plainly suggested that the team could’ve used six or seven innings out of Urena.

Initial x-rays on Acuna, meanwhile, were thankfully negative (Twitter link via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), but he’s still set to undergo a CT scan to further clarify the status of his elbow. Even if he avoids major injury, though, it seems quite likely that the league will bring forth a suspension against Urena, in accordance with previous situations where the intent of the pitcher has been fairly plain to see.

A five-game ban for a starting pitcher has been standard operating procedure in these instances, though it’s clear that such punishments haven’t completely dissuaded pitchers from intentionally plunking opponents. Perhaps they never will, but there’s an argument to be made that steeper penalties ought to be put into place in an effort to at least lessen the likelihood of a recurrence. Even if Acuna is back in the lineup tonight, he’ll be in there after perhaps avoiding a serious injury by a matter of millimeters. Should it really take a serious injury to one of MLB’s most exciting young players to invoke change, or have we reached the point where a more proactive approach should be taken? (Link to poll for Trade Rumors app users)

Braves Activate Ronald Acuna, Place Brandon McCarthy On DL

By Steve Adams | June 28, 2018 at 11:42am CDT

The Braves announced Thursday that they’ve activated Ronald Acuna Jr. from the disabled list and placed veteran right-hander Brandon McCarthy on the 10-day DL due to tendinitis in his right knee. Atlanta also optioned righty Wes Parsons back to Triple-A Gwinnett just a day after he had his contract selected and recalled righty Matt Wisler from Gwinnett.

Acuna, 20, has been out since May 28 due to a knee contusion and a mild sprain of his left ACL, but he figures to return to an everyday role in left field, joining Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis in a productive Braves outfield. The game’s consensus top prospect to open the season, Acuna did nothing to suggest he wasn’t deserving of such high praise in his first taste of the Majors, hitting .265/.326/.453 with five homers and seven doubles through 129 plate appearances in spite of his youth.

McCarthy, soon to be 35, has had his share of struggles in Atlanta this year, compiling a 4.92 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.72 HR/9 and a 48 percent ground-ball rate. To McCarthy’s credit, most of the damage done against him came in a pair of brutal starts at the beginning of May, when he yielded 14 runs over a combined 8 1/3 innings. The righty pitched quite well in the month of April and, since that ugly pair of consecutive outings in May, has worked to a respectable 4.23 ERA with a pristine 35-to-6 K/BB ratio in 38 1/3 frames.

[Related: Atlanta Braves depth chart]

With McCarthy going on the shelf and Mike Soroka now out until at least late August, the Braves’ rotation consists of Sean Newcomb, Mike Foltynewicz, Julio Teheran and Anibal Sanchez. Wisler, Max Fried, Luiz Gohara and Lucas Sims are among the options already on the 40-man roster that could step up and make some starts in lieu of McCarthy.

At 45-34, the Braves still hold the the lead of the NL East by two and a half games despite the fact that their play has slipped a bit as of late. Atlanta has played at a .500 clip this month and is 5-5 over its past 10 games, but neither the Nationals nor the Phillies have made up any substantial ground in the division during that time.

Injury Notes: Morrow, Adams, Franchy, Acuna, Folty

By Steve Adams | June 20, 2018 at 11:12am CDT

The Cubs announced Wednesday that they’ve placed closer Brandon Morrow on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to June 17. Morrow was unavailable in yesterday’s doubleheader due to back spasms. Right-hander Justin Hancock, whom the Cubs recalled to serve as the 26th man in yesterday’s twin bill, will remain on the roster for the time being. To this point in the season, Morrow has made good on the Cubs’ two-year, $21MM investment, pitching to a 1.59 ERA with 9.9 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and 0.4 HR/9 with a career-best 53.6 percent ground-ball rate through 22 2/3 innings. Chicago has been cautious in its usage of Morrow in an effort to protect the injury-prone righty’s arm; he’s yet to pitch more than an inning in any appearance, and he hasn’t pitched on three consecutive days all season. There’s no indication as to how long Morrow will be expected to miss, though there’s little reason to believe that this’ll be a lengthy absence. With Morrow on the disabled list, righties Steve Cishek and Pedro Strop stand out as the likeliest candidates to get the call in save opportunities.

More injury news from around the game…

A fractured left index finger landed Nationals first baseman/outfielder Matt Adams on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday. There’s no word yet as to exactly how long he’s expected to miss, though his absence will surely be felt when the Nats face right-handed pitchers. As has been the case throughout his career, Adams has floundered against lefties this season but thrived when holding the platoon advantage. He’s clobbering opposing righties at a career-best .283/.364/.614 clip this season and has belted a dozen homers in 143 plate appearances against right-handed opponents. With Adams joining Ryan Zimmermann on the DL, it was Daniel Murphy who stepped up at first base last night. Both Murphy and Mark Reynolds figure to be options there moving forward.
Padres fans are holding their breath as they await a new diagnosis on outfielder Franchy Cordero, whose rehab has been shut down entirely, as Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets. Cordero, who began a minor league rehab assignment this week, “felt something” in his elbow while taking a swing in one of those rehab games, according to Lin. He was evaluated by Dr. Neal ElAttrache yesterday. While there’s been no official word from the team just yet, it’s an ominous-sounding injury at a time when the organization hoped Cordero was nearing a return to the lineup. The 23-year-old Cordero hit .237/.307/.439 through 154 PAs early in the season and had developed a penchant for off-the-charts exit velocity and distance projections from Statcast thanks to his light-tower raw power.
The Braves, meanwhile, are hopeful that they’ll get a pair of key players back in the near future. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweeted last night that Ronald Acuna has upped the intensity of his workouts over the past two days and is expected to be cleared to begin what sounds like it’ll be a brief minor league rehab assignment “real soon.” Atlanta is also tentatively planning on activating righty Mike Foltynewicz for Sunday’s start against the Orioles, tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com. While that’s the organizational hope, however, the team won’t use right-hander Brandon McCarthy in relief until there’s greater certainty about the availability of Foltynewicz, who is on the shelf due to a minor triceps issue. If Foltynewicz is determined unready for Sunday’s outing, then, it seems McCarthy will get the ball in his place.

NL Injury Notes: Acuna, Cueto, Thames, Phils, Bucs, Rox

By Connor Byrne | June 9, 2018 at 2:14pm CDT

Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna is progressing in his recovery from a sprained left ACL, Mark Bowman of MLB.com explains, and could return as early as next weekend. The 20-year-old phenom, who went down May 27, would only miss around three weeks in that scenario. Acuna’s injury looked like a potential season-ender when it occurred, making his quick recovery all the more welcome for Atlanta. “What he’s doing right now is amazing after looking at what happened,” manager Brian Snitker said. “What he’s doing now is really good.”

More injury notes from around the NL…

Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto is “cautiously optimistic” he’ll be able to come off the 60-day DL when he’s first eligible (June 30), Chris Haft of MLB.com writes. Cueto hasn’t pitched since suffering an elbow injury at the end of April, when he was among the majors’ best starters (0.84 ERA, 2.74 FIP in 32 innings). But even without Cueto and ace Madison Bumgarner, who just made his 2018 debut Tuesday after his own lengthy absence, the Giants have managed a 32-31 record to stay in the thick of what has been a mediocre NL West.
The Brewers expect first baseman Eric Thames back at the beginning of the upcoming week, Joe Bloss of MLB.com relays. Thames landed on the DL on April 27 with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, derailing a start in which he slashed .250/.351/.625 with seven home runs in 74 plate appearances. Fellow first baseman Jesus Aguilar has been outstanding in Thames’ absence, however, with a .296/.369/.556 line and 11 homers in 187 PAs this year.
Phillies pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez is headed to the DL with right elbow inflammation, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. The club doesn’t believe it’s a serious issue, however. The 19-year-old right-hander, Baseball America’s 16th-ranked prospect (subscription required), has logged a 2.51 ERA with 8.68 K/9 and 2.12 BB/9 in 46 2/3 innings at the High-A level this season. He was closing in on a Double-A promotion prior to the DL placement, according to Salisbury, but that’s now on hold.
The Pirates have sent righty reliever Richard Rodriguez to the DL with shoulder inflammation, Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. The club recalled righty Dovydas Neverauskas from Triple-A in a corresponding move. Pittsburgh doesn’t expect Rodriguez to miss a significant amount of time, but even a short-term absence could hurt. The 28-year-old rookie has burst on the scene with a 2.38 ERA and 13.1 K/9 against 1.19 BB/9 in 22 2/3 innings this season.
The Rockies placed lefty reliever Mike Dunn on the DL and recalled righty Jeff Hoffman from Triple-A on Friday, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets. Dunn’s dealing with an upper-body injury – a left rhomboid strain, to be exact. The DL placement continues what has been a trying second season in Colorado for Dunn, who inked a three-year, $19MM guarantee with the team entering 2017. So far in 2018, the 33-year-old has posted a 9.00 ERA with more walks than strikeouts (17 to 12) in 16 innings.

Latest On Braves’ Jose Ramirez, Ronald Acuna

By Jeff Todd | June 4, 2018 at 10:59pm CDT

The Braves have provided updates on the health of righty Jose Ramirez and outfielder Ronald Acuna, each of whom presently resides on the 10-day DL. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the news (Twitter links).

Ramirez, 28, had been one of the team’s go-to late-inning arms in 2017, when he pitched to a 3.19 ERA in 62 innings. But he stumbled early in the current campaign, allowing a dozen earned runs in just 6 1/3 innings while issuing eight walks against seven strikeouts. Perhaps it wasn’t surprising when it turned out that Ramirez was dealing with a shoulder problem.

Unfortunately, the progress made to date now appears to be at risk. Ramirez had been working back to form but was forced to halt his first live batting practice session today. It’s not clear at this point whether he’ll need to go back to resting or perhaps give throwing another go, but that’s obviously suboptimal news under the circumstances. Continued uncertainty surrounding Ramirez certainly enhances the Braves’ potential need for relievers at the deadline.

As for Acuna, there’s still no reason to fear that he has a significant injury. But he’s still not leaping back to action quite as promptly as seemed possible in the wake of the scary knee hyperextension he suffered while running through the bag at first base.

For the time being, Acuna is still just working on physical improvements. He may resume baseball activities as soon as next week, though that’s not written in stone. Notably, O’Brien adds that the team now anticipates that Acuna will require a rehab assignment. While the Braves are no doubt still grateful that Acuna somehow avoided a much more serious problem, it will likely still be a while before he’s back in action at the MLB level.

Braves To Place Ronald Acuna On DL

By Connor Byrne | May 28, 2018 at 12:29pm CDT

Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna suffered a mild ACL sprain in his left knee and a lower back contusion on Sunday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report. The team will place Acuna on the disabled list and then re-evaluate him after the 10-day window.

Acuna exited the Braves’ win over the Red Sox on Sunday with what looked to be a potentially catastrophic injury (video here), but it appears he’ll escape disaster. Given how dire the situation looked Sunday, Bowman notes that this could be a best-case scenario for Acuna and the Braves.

The 20-year-old Acuna is only a little more than a month into his major league career, having joined the Braves with great fanfare on April 25. The all-world prospect justified the hype before landing on the DL, slashing .265/.326/.453 with five home runs in 129 plate appearances. He has also posted a .364 xwOBA, per Statcast, suggesting his actual wOBA (.332) has been a bit on the unlucky side.

While Acuna may not miss significant time, it’s still unfortunate for the Braves that they’ll have to go without one of their key near- and long-term pieces for at least the next couple weeks. Atlanta, thanks in part to Acuna and many other highly talented 20-somethings, owns the National League’s second-best record (30-21) and a half-game lead in the NL East. They’ll turn a starting outfield spot back to Preston Tucker, who occupied one alongside Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis prior to Acuna’s promotion (depth chart).

NL Injury Notes: Acuna, Kershaw, Wright, Mets

By Connor Byrne | May 27, 2018 at 3:22pm CDT

Braves uber-prospect Ronald Acuna left the team’s game Sunday in Boston with knee and lower-back pain, the team announced. The 20-year-old outfielder exited in the seventh inning after suffering a gruesome-looking injury (video via Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports), though he eventually was able to walk off the field on his own power, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes. Acuna’s currently undergoing an exam at a nearby clinic, O’Brien tweets. The up-and-coming Braves and the baseball world in general are holding their breath that isn’t a serious injury for the exciting Acuna, who has emerged as one of the game’s best rookies and a key part of a playoff contender.

Braves Release Peter Bourjos

By Steve Adams | April 29, 2018 at 11:47am CDT

APRIL 29: The Braves have released Bourjos, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.

APRIL 25: The Braves announced Wednesday that they’ve designated outfielder Peter Bourjos for assignment. His roster spot will go to Ronald Acuña Jr., whose contract has been formally selected from Triple-A Gwinnett. Acuña will make his MLB debut tonight.

Bourjos, 31, has a longstanding reputation as a premium defensive outfielder but has struggled at the plate in recent seasons. The 2018 campaign was no exception, as Bourjos got off to a 3-for-25 start to the season, with a pair of walks against seven strikeouts through a total of 27 plate appearances. He latched on with the Braves on a Major League contract late in Spring Training after being cut loose by the Cubs, with whom he’d been playing on a minor league deal.

Atlanta will have a week to trade Bourjos, run him through outright waivers or simply release him. If he clears outright waivers, he’d have the option to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency, given that he has seven-plus years of MLB service time — well north of the minimum three he’d need to exercise that right. Considering the crowded outfield situation with the Braves with Acuna, Ender Inciarte, Nick Markakis and Preston Tucker all on the big league roster, it’s quite possible that the veteran Bourjos looks to find another opportunity with an organization that has a less-solidified mix of outfielders in the Majors.

Braves Promote Ronald Acuna

By Steve Adams | April 25, 2018 at 12:57pm CDT

April 25: Acuna’s contract has been formally selected from Triple-A Gwinnett, the club announced. He’s playing left field and batting sixth for the Braves in his MLB debut.

April 24: The Braves are set to promote top prospect Ronald Acuna to the Major Leagues, Daniel Alvarez Montes of EVTV Miami reports (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Mark Bowman hears the same and adds that Acuna is expected to join the team tomorrow (Twitter link).

The timing of Acuna’s promotion has been a source of consternation among Braves fans all season, as many felt he should’ve been with the club from Opening Day after laying waste to minor league pitching in 2017 and outhitting the vast majority of the Braves’ roster in Spring Training. The Braves, however, understandably appear to have wanted to keep Acuna in Triple-A long enough to delay his free agency by a full year. By keeping him in Triple-A until April 14, Atlanta delayed his free agency from the 2023-24 offseason to the 2024-25 offseason.

Acuna, though, got off to a brutal start in Triple-A Gwinnett, which prompted the Braves to keep the 21-year-old in the minors even longer. Not wanting to promote Acuna to the Majors when he was struggling badly against minor league arms, Atlanta waited for their prized prospect to begin to right the ship at the plate. That’s been taking place over the past week, as Acuna has collected 1 11 hits and four walks with eight strikeouts in 37 plate appearances.

Entering the 2018 season, virtually every set of prospect rankings from major outlets considered Acuna to be the game’s top overall prospect. It was a rapid ascent for Acuna, who entered the 2017 campaign as a consensus top 100 prospect but not near the top of any notable rankings. His meteoric rise began last season when he started in Class-A Advanced and skyrocketed to Triple-A by the end of the year. The Venezuelan-born slugger didn’t just move up the ladder, though; his numbers actually improved upon each promotion, culminating with a .344/.393/.548 line in Triple-A.

Overall, Acuna slashed .325/.374/.522 with 21 homers, 31 doubles, eight triples and 44 steals across three minor league levels in 2017 — and he did so all before turning 20 years of age this past December. Even before reading any of the many glowing scouting reports on Acuna — and there’s no shortage of them, as Baseball America, MLB.com, Fangraphs, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN are among the many that have lauded him — it’s readily apparent that he’s a significantly more advanced talent than most prospects. That type of production in Double-A and Triple-A is rare for prospects who are several years older than Acuna, even, but doing so at age 19 is a rather remarkable accomplishment.

It stands to reason that Acuna will be thrown directly into the mix in left field with the Braves, who managed to jettison Matt Kemp this offseason in order to create an easy path to at-bats for the ballyhooed young slugger. Preston Tucker has been holding down the fort in left field and performed admirably as a stopgap, but his bat has cooled substantially since a hot start to the season (.514 OPS over his past 44 PAs).

With Acuna now penciled in as the primary left fielder, Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis will occupy the team’s other two outfield spots. Tucker or Peter Bourjos remain on hand as reserve options in the outfield, though it’s possible that one could be a roster casualty to make way for Acuna. The Braves already designated one reserve, Lane Adams, for assignment last week.

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