4:03PM: Acuna hasn’t been approached with any offers, the outfielder himself told David O’Brien and other reporters, and he and his representation hadn’t been engaged in any sort of talks about a potential $30MM deal.
1:55PM: Braves phenom Ronald Acuna has at least given some indication to the Braves that he would be interested in a long-term contract, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. While some discussions have taken place, it seems there is no real indication at present that the sides are particularly likely to agree to a deal.
The report from Bowman arises after former ESPN Deportes blogger Arturo Marcano tweeted yesterday that Acuna had turned down a $30MM offer from the Atlanta organization. But both Bowman and David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) reported in strong terms that no such offer had been issued by the team.
Acuna, who’s perhaps the highest-regarded pre-MLB player in baseball, was previously re-assigned out of major-league camp in anticipation of opening the year at Triple-A. First, though, he showed why he has drawn so much hype with a monster performance in the Grapefruit League.
A generally similar situation was unfolding with the division-rival Phillies, whose top prospect Scott Kingery pushed for a MLB role with a big performance in camp. He ultimately agreed to an extension before ever suiting up for a big-league game — a somewhat controversial contract model. That deal, while hardly unprecedented, has sparked some new discussion as to whether teams will increasingly attempt to lock up their best prospects quite early in their careers.
For the time being, anyway, it seems there’s not much likelihood of a similar outcome in Atlanta. The team would no doubt be quite willing to make a commitment to Acuna at the right price, but it’s far from clear whether the sides will see eye to eye — or even whether significant further discussions will take place.
