BREAKING: Outfielder Ronald Acuña and the Atlanta Braves are finalizing an eight-year, $100 million contract extension, league sources tell ESPN. The deal includes two club options.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 2, 2019
Ronald Acuña's deal with the Braves begins this season and guarantees another seven years. It includes a $10M buyout on two options that are worth $17M each.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 2, 2019
All in all, the Braves get Ronald Acuña Jr. for the next 10 years at a maximum of $124 million. It is the sort of deal teams dream of.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 2, 2019
This is obviously a great deal for both sides in baseball's current economic situation. The Atlanta Braves get their superstar outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr for an extra four years of control. $124 million for basically the next decade is a bargain for the Braves franchise. Just doing the quick math that's $12.4 million per season for Acuna who is going to put up MVP numbers for the next decade through his prime years. You can't beat that when superstars like Trout, Machado and Harper are all making over $30 million per season.
It's also a great deal for Acuna as it gives him security and all the money is guaranteed. Currently he was making $550K per season so a bump of salary to over $12 million is nothing to sneeze at.
Most importantly it keeps Acuna in Atlanta for the next decade. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year is a legit 5-tool player who has the makings of a young Griffey Jr and dare I say Trout at 21 years young.
I've been vocal about Braves ownership Liberty Media being cheap this past offseason and I still stick with my opinion but it is good to see them extend their young stars early. They did it with Freddie Freeman, Julio Teheran, Andrelton Simmons, and Craig Kimbrel in the past and hopefully they build the team around Acuna now like they were suppose to with Freeman 5 years ago.
Acuna should be batting at the top of the Braves order for at least the next decade and that alone should bring a smile to all Braves fans. Acuna's contract also gives the Braves plenty of "financial flexibility" to go get another starter (Dallas Keuchel) or relief arm (Craig Kimbrel) without breaking the Liberty Media bank.
Chop on and Acuna Matata Bitches!
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