Ronald Acuña Jr. didn’t agree with how the Braves handled Jarred Kelenic’s laziness during their game Saturday — and the face of the franchise made sure to voice his displeasure.
One day after Kelenic jogged around first base and was thrown out at second after hitting a ball to the wall, Acuña, out to begin the season while recovering from a torn ACL, wrote in a since-deleted post on X, “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.”
The superstar outfielder was responding to a post that featured manager Brian Snitker’s explanation for not benching Kelenic after the baserunning gaffe, even though Acuña was benched by Snitker for a similar mishap back in 2019 — when a ball off the wall only turned into a single because he admired the hit before running.
“He didn’t run,” Snitker said in 2019. “You’ve got to run. It’s not going to be acceptable here. As a teammate you’re responsible for 24 other guys. That name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back of that jersey. You can’t do that. We’re trying to accomplish something and do something special here and personal things have got to be put on the backburner. You just can’t let your team down like that.”
Kelenic, a former top Mets prospect sent to Seattle in the deal for Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano, was hitting just .163 entering Saturday and likely in danger of losing his roster spot at some point soon given the results.
The hit would’ve helped his case a bit, but that only turned into a disaster.
Acuña, the National League MVP award in 2023, hasn’t played a game since May 2024.
It marked just the latest debacle in a brutal start to 2025 for the Braves, who were last in the NL East entering Sunday’s games despite a star-filled roster — even without Acuña.
The opened the year with seven consecutive losses to the Padres and Dodgers, and they hadn’t won consecutive games until taking the first two of their weekend series with the Twins.
Atlanta led 3-0 in the second inning as it looked to complete the sweep Sunday, and Kelenic, back in the lineup and batting ninth, singled in his first at-bat.
