General manager Alex Anthopoulos and the Atlanta Braves are currently preparing to enter a 2024 MLB season filled with expectations following last year's flameout against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS for the second straight year. Anthopolous will thankfully have a healthy Ronald Acuña Jr. in the Braves lineup after the reigning NL MVP's recent injury scare, but that isn't stopping Anthopoulos from publicly calling for the superstar to exercise a bit more caution in the coming year.
Recently, Anthopoulos broke down why he'd actually like to see Acuña be a bit less assertive when going for stolen bases in 2024.
“I mean look it’s awesome right, 40 homers, 70 stolen bases. In my job you worry with stolen bases. You get a finger, you get a hand, and wrist, but that’s the way he plays, that’s who he is,” said Anthopoulos, per Foul Territory on YouTube. “This guy loves baseball, and forget that he’s MVP and so on, he adores baseball. You'll see stuff on the internet and online, in the Winter he’s playing whether it’s in leagues or in parks, he loves the game. That’s how he plays, that’s the energy he plays with and that’s part of the game.”
Indeed, a large part of Ronald Acuña Jr.'s greatness stems from his ability to steal bases at an unprecedented rate; however, these plays can be dangerous, especially as they start to rack up over the course of a season. The Braves will kick things off in 2024 in just a few short weeks vs the Phillies in Philadelphia.
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