Just when things look like they might be starting to turn around on the field for the Atlanta Braves, things off the field are taking a turn for the worse. Manager Brian Snitker and star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. find themselves at the center of a bit of controversy following the rehabbing slugger’s response to Snitker’s handling of Jarred Kelenic being thrown out after not hustling on Saturday.

After Kelenic wasn’t disciplined following the incident by Snitker, Acuña did what we see from so many athletes: He took to social media to voice his frustrations. In a since-deleted post on X/Twitter, Acuña replied to someone relaying the incident, saying that he would’ve been benched for doing the same thing that Kelenic did — which holds a lot of weight considering we’ve seen exactly that happen before.

Following the Braves’ win over the Twins in Sunday’s series finale, though, Snitker had the opportunity to ultimately smooth things over and make things right with Acuña. Instead, he went the opposite route. He all but doubled down on the decision when pressed upon it, emphatically saying multiple times that “every situation is different” when it comes to instances of not hustling or things of that nature.

Perhaps the most damning part of Snitker’s response was his admission that he wasn’t watching intently when Kelenic was thrown out and didn’t realize it was a result of not hustling until Sunday morning.

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Brian Snitker makes Ronald Acuña Jr. drama worse with response

I’m not going to argue with Snitker about the notion that all of these situations are different. He’s not wrong there, specifically when he noted that Kelenic is known for being the opposite of what he showed on Saturday, always pushing the pedal to the metal. At the same time, it seems like he has no comprehension of the optics of how he’s handled this.

If Acuña is chuffed enough by the situation to go on X/Twitter and say something like what he did, then this is obviously an issue in the Braves clubhouse. Their star, who is set to return in the coming weeks from a torn ACL suffered last season, feels like he’s not being given the benefit of the doubt or even the grace to make a mistake in the way other players are. Some might say that’s what comes with being a superstar; but it’s also something that Snitker could address in that manner.

He didn’t, though. Instead, he seemed steadfast in the decisions he made well before the weekend and during the series with Minnesota as well. That creates more of a problem than was already there.

That’s the last thing the Braves need from their skipper right now, too. After an abysmal start, they’ve seeming found some of the right juju lately, sweeping the Twins after a 5-13 start and beginning to claw their way back into the early NL East race. So to throw a wrench like this in with the team’s biggest star and manager is an unwelcomed sight for any fan.

For the past year plus, there have been calls for Snitker to be pushed aside ultimately and to look for new leadership within the Braves clubhouse. When you see how he’s handled something like this and potentially alienated Acuña even further, it’s pretty easy to see where that sentiment might be coming from.