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Red Sox Analyst Makes Wild Ronald Acuña Jr. Accusation

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Apr 22, 2025 11:40 AM ET

Looking back, Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. might regret signing an eight-year, $100 million extension in 2019.

That’s not to say Acuña, the 2023 NL MVP, wishes he didn’t play in Atlanta. However, the four-time All-Star is certainly the caliber of player who would earn at least $400 million on the open market, especially with his 28th birthday not until December.

Could Acuña’s recent public frustration with the Braves, including a tweet he deleted over the weekend, be contract-related? Boston Red Sox analyst Jared Carrabis certainly thinks so, even accusing Acuña of being “bitter” on the Baseball Is Dead podcast.

“I’m like, ‘Man, my contract looks [expletive] and [expletive] by the day,’” Carrabis said.

Carrabis compared Acuña’s contract to three other players: New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (15 years and $765 million); Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (14 years, $500 million), and San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (14 years, $340 million).

Soto and Guerrero each signed theirs within the last six months. Tatis finalized his contract in February 2021.

“Like, I’m feeling a little bitter because I’m also looking around being like, ‘Let’s see, I have an MVP,’” Carrabis continued. “‘Does Vlad? No. Does Tatis? No. Does Soto? No.’ Like, I am bitter if I am Acuña Jr."

Acuña would hit free agency this offseason had he not signed the extension in 2019.

Soto earned a record-setting contract by averaging .285 with 29 home runs, 85 RBI, a .953 OPS, and 5.2 bWAR over his first seven seasons. Guerrero averaged .288, 27 home runs, 85 RBI, a .863 OPS, and had two 6-WAR campaigns.

For comparison, Acuña averaged a .292 average, 27 home runs, 68 RBI, 33 stolen bases, a .918 OPS, and 4.3 bWAR from 2019-23. Tatis signed his mega-extension after one full year and the shortened 2020 season.

Although he has not publicly complained about his contract in recent months, Acuña told The Athletic in February 2024 that he wants to be a “Brave for life,” his way of saying he wanted a new contract.

“It’s my hope that we can make that happen soon,” Acuña said.

Over a year later, Acuña still doesn’t have a new contract, and we’ll see if that creates more problems between him and management moving forward.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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