Latest Ronald Acuna Jr. decision points to Braves waving white flag

To say that the 2025 season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Atlanta Braves would be a major understatement. After narrowly making it to the playoffs last year and promptly getting swept in the NL Wild Card series, the Braves expected that they would once again contend, especially with 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. returning to action after a lost 2024 season. Instead, with a little over a week to go before the trade deadline, the Braves have a 44-57 record thus far — good for worst in the NL East.

Barring an unforeseen hot streak, the Braves are bound to miss the playoffs for just the first time since 2017. And it looks as though Atlanta won’t be forcing the issue anyway, if their latest Acuna decision is any indication. According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, the Braves will be letting Acuna rest his legs during tomorrow’s off-day after being held out of the lineup in their 9-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.

Considering how important Acuna is to the franchise, prioritizing his health is always going to be the correct decision. Of the Braves’ 101 games thus far this season, their star man has played in only 50 games, as he had to make his season debut well into May as he was still recovering from the torn ACL he sustained.

Even with his late start, Acuna has still been the Braves’ best player. He has tallied a WAR total of 2.5 in just half the season, posting an MVP-level slash line of .320/.437/.601 in the process. But with the 2025 season being a lost one for the Braves, it’s always going to be best to err on the side of caution.

Braves get plagued by poor luck in 2025

Latest Ronald Acuna Jr. decision points to Braves waving white flag — Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It simply has not been a very good year for the Braves on the injury front. In addition to falling off the pace while Acuna was recovering towards the start of the year, they also lost Chris Sale to a long-term injury, with the team having to place their ace (and reigning NL Cy Young winner) on the 60-day injured list due to a rib injury. Austin Riley is currently on the IL as well with a strained abdomen.

But beyond that, the Braves have had many everyday players underperform to a massive degree. Michael Harris II, the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year, has gotten progressively worse with each passing year. There he is, with a negative WAR total and an OPS of .559 in 2025.

Ozzie Albies has a .626 OPS and he hasn’t exactly been Gold Glove-caliber at second base. Marcell Ozuna, he of the 39 home runs in 2024, has only hit 13 dingers in 93 games.

Their players’ regular level of play throughout their career suggests that there could soon be a positive regression for them. But it might be too little too late for the Braves as far as their 2025 playoff hopes go. And with that, managing the workload of their best players, particularly Acuna, should be the move as they gear up for another playoff push come next season.