The face of the franchise talked to the media before Wednesday’s game and two things are clear: He’s putting the controversy behind him and he’s ready to get back to work.
Shortly before Wednesday’s Atlanta Braves game against the Nationals, Ronald Acuña Jr. was in the building and got a chance to talk to the media. Naturally, with this being Acuña’s first big media appearance at Truist Park this season, the elephant in the room had to be addressed — namely, the “lack of hustle” controversy that his deleted (albeit correct) tweet further fueled.
Despite the fact that Acuña received support from the fans and outside observers, it was still a distraction that the team had to deal with while he wasn’t even in the clubhouse at that point, so it was totally understandable that it was expected that Acuña would address the situation with his teammates and especially with the manager.
The good news is that it all appears to be water under the bridge. Ronald Acuña Jr. opened up the presser by answering a question concerning the controversy from a few weeks ago. “I had to opportunity to speak to my teammates and we’re fine. We talked to each other and we moved on. We’re very fine,” emphasized Acuña when asked about the issue. “I apologized and asked for his forgiveness and I apologized for being a distraction. I just wanted to clear the air and now we’re moving on.”
Acuña also specified that he had covered all of the bases when it came to making sure that everything was all good between him and the team. “It’s all in the past, we’re here now, moving on and it was just a moment of frustration for me,” stated Acuña through his translator, Braves Director of Player Relations Franco Garcia. “I was able to apologize to Snitker, man-to-man, to his face. I apologized to my teammates. We’re turning the page and moving on.”
When Acuña was asked about what brought about the tweet in the first place, the root cause was pretty simple. “I was just frustrated with my situation in the sense of my ability of being able to return to the team,” stated Acuña. “I’m coming off of a second major injury. I’m in Florida away from my teammates. The team is struggling. Those are the sort of things that were frustrating me. I’ve always had a strong sense of pride when it comes to being a member of this organization.”
The star outfielder for the Atlanta Braves touched upon that frustration again later on in the presser. Frustration has been a theme for the Braves so far in the infancy of the season and sure enough, Acuña has been feeling that frustration just as much as his teammates have — and probably even more so since he’s been unable to do anything about it from the sidelines. “It goes back to the frustration that I was talking about. I’ve never in my career seen the team go through that stretch of struggling. That to me was the most frustrating part — not being able to help or do anything about it,” stated Acuña. “Thankfully, we’re turning the page and moving forward and now I’m excited to get out there and help.”
Acuña also took the time to confirm that despite the drama, he still loves it around here. “I want to be here for my whole career,” affirmed Acuña. “So just seeing my teammates going through that and not being able to help or be with them was where the frustration was coming from.”
When Acuña was asked about whether there were any lingering feelings of animosity whne it came to him and the rest of the ballclub, he continued to confirm that the waters were smooth in the clubhouse. “I talked to them all man-to-man and I admitted I was wrong,” stated Acuña. “I’m taking accountability for what I did and we have a really good relationship and really good dynamic amongst one another. I think we’ll be able to move on just fine.”
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Following Wednesday night’s game, Bryce Elder (who is now in Triple-A) and Brian Snitker both spoke with the media and were asked about Acuña. Both of them confirmed everything that Acuña said earlier about him addressing the team concerning the controversy. “He spoke with us before the game. He had a meeting with us and he handled it well. He did his part and we’re happy to have him back,” said Elder when he was asked about Acuña.
Brian Snitker naturally had a lot more to say in his analysis of the whole situation. “The conversation went good and it was good seeing him. He looks good. He looks lean. He came to me before he talked to the club,” said Snitker once it was his turn to talk about Acuña. “It was good for him to do that and it takes a lot to do stuff like that.”
When he was asked about whether or not Acuña was truly genuine in his contrition, he continued to affirm Acuña’s actions from earlier while also quickly moving on to what the future holds. “Yeah, absolutely. I think he was contrite and we’re excited to get him back going in Gwinnett [on Thursday, where he went 2-for-3 with a double],” said Snitker. “Like I said, he looks great. He’s lean and you can tell by all the rehab that he’s been doing that he’s lost some weight. I think that’ll be good for him — when you start dealing with knees, not carrying around extra weight and being in good shape will help him.”
Eventually, the discussion turned towards how Acuña was feeling about finally returning to action and it’s clear that the face of Atlanta’s franchise is chomping at the bit to get going again. “I’m super excited to be back and I’m piqued with anxiety just trying to rush back and be able to play with the guys and rejoin the team,” said Acuña. “I’m itching to get back on the field.” He was pretty succinct when it came to what he needs to focus on upon his return: “I just need to stay ready for the fastball,” joked Acuña.
Acuña also took a question about how he was feeling physically and once again, the answer was pretty encouraging. “Honestly, I feel 100 percent because [rehab]’s been such a long process that we’ve been working on for over the past year,” stated Acuña. “We stuck with the plan that we made initially and I feel like we’ve executed it well. I feel really good so I feel, again, like it’s more about preparing for the fastball since I feel like that’ll be one of the tougher things to do.” When it came to figuring out how many games he’ll need to play before eventually returning from his rehab stint, Acuña was noncomittal and joked around by saying that “I think you’re going to have to ask the boss” — a.k.a Brian Snitker. Nobody asked Snitker about it but let’s not belabor the joke, here.
Anyways, Acuña seems very optimistic about how this return is going to go and he has the prior experience of his first ACL tear to glean upon. “I think going through that experience is going to be really helpful. I’m going to know how my body feels and how it needs to feel if I’m going to be ready to go,” said Acuña when he was asked to compare what this return will be like when compared to his initial return in 2022.
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When it came to the extra months that Acuña’s had off, he also thinks that that’ll work out for him in the long run“I think it was super beneficial. When I came back from the first injury, I’d have to DH or take days off. I think the plan that we followed to recover from this injury will be very beneficial. The way I’m looking at it, vacation’s over.”
Indeed, this time that the Braves have had without Ronald Acuña Jr. has really felt like an excursion through the wilderness. The team has fared admirably in his absence but at the same time, it’s clear that this team (and this outfield in particular) is badly in need of No. 13 to make his return. With his first rehab start officially in the books, it’s clear that the “vacation” is certainly about to come to a close and Acuña is ready and willing to get back on the grind with the Braves going forward.