Braves president reflects on potentially trading Ronald Acuna Jr. to Marlins for Christian Yelich

Alex Anthopoulos, the president of baseball operations for the Atlanta Braves, recently revealed they had come close to trading Ronald Acuna Jr. away in exchange for Milwaukee Brewers slugger Christian Yelich some years back. Anthopolous said the outfielder was only a prospect in their organization at the time while Yelich had a couple of years in the big leagues with the Miami Marlins.

The Atlanta Braves signed Ronald Acuna Jr. as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic in 2014. He made his big league debut four years later and was named the 2018 National Rookie of the Year. Acuna Jr. signed an eight-year, $100 million extension with the Braves before the start of the following season and was voted the NL MVP in 2023.

Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopolous has been at the helm of the franchise since 2017. He mentioned the potential trade with the Miami Marlins during an interview for the Baseball Isn't Dead podcast on Tuesday. [19:58 - 23:47]

"I can say this now because [former Marlins GM] Mike Hill is now in the commissioner's office. We wanted Yelich and Acuna to be part of the deal. But there was no deal without him," Anthopolous stated. "Yelich had five years of club control. Great player. And Acuna is this great prospect, hadn't touched the major leagues yet.

"You could say, "That's an established guy. Five years of control." But we weren't just going to ignore what we have," he continued. "This guy's got a chance to be really good, and he might not be, but we made the decision not to do it. Not that Yelich isn't a great player. Won an MVP. He was awesome."

Christian Yelich was a first-round pick for the Miami Marlins in 2010. He debuted in 2013 and spent five seasons with the team before he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers. Yelich was named the 2018 NL MVP before signing a nine-year, $215 extension two years later.

"We’re not gonna have any restrictions on him at all": Alex Anthopolous on limiting steals for Ronald Acuna Jr.

Ronald Acuna Jr. is the only plaers to post a 40-70 season in the MLB (Image Source: IMAGN)

Ronald Acuna Jr. will not be part of the Atlanta Braves roster for Opening Day as he continues his recovery from the ACL tear on his left knee after injuring himself during a stolen base attempt last season. The outfielder said he will cut down on stealing bases this year. However, Alex Anthopolous has stated that the team will not be holding him back.

“We’re going to make sure when he’s back, he’s full go and that he can be himself and play the game he plays,” Anthopoulos said. “He’s very competitive, he’s a tremendous base-stealer, and we’re not going to have any restrictions on him at all."

Ronald Acuna Jr. is regarded as one of the best baserunners in the MLB. He exemplified his phenomenal power-speed combination by posting 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases in 2023.