'Godfather' trade proposal sends Ronald Acuña Jr. to AL contender

Yahoo

3 days ago

There has been no bigger disappointment in the 2025 Major League Baseball season than the Atlanta Braves.
The perennial contenders, who have made the postseason in every season since 2018, currently sit in fourth place in the National League East with a 39-50 record. The starting rotation is almost unrecognizable after injuries to Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, A.J. Smith-Shawver and Reynaldo Lopez, while a once potent lineup has been undone by shocking underperformances from the likes of Michael Harris and Ozzie Albies. The Braves showed some signs of life after sweeping the New York Mets in the middle of June, but an embarrassing home sweep at the hands of the last-place Baltimore Orioles seemed to solidify them as trade deadline sellers.
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The issue for the Braves, however, is that they don't have any obvious pieces to sell off. The only pending free agent (assuming Sale's $18 million option is picked up) is Marcell Ozuna, a 34-year-old designated hitter who has hit just .159 with a single home run since June 3. Much of the Braves' core is locked up for years to come, which could lead the front office to chalk up 2025 as a lost season and run it back in 2026.
Yet if the Braves do believe that the current roster is fundamentally flawed, they could make the daring decision to trade former Most Valuable Player award winner Ronald Acuña Jr. The 27-year-old superstar has not missed a beat since returning from his second torn ACL in mid-May, hitting .331 with nine home runs over his first 40 games. Given his age, track record and the fact that he still has four years left on his laughably team-friendly eight-year, $100 million contract extension, it's not unreasonable to think that Acuña could fetch the largest trade return of any player in history, topping even what the Washington Nationals got for Juan Soto.
Of course, there are not many teams that possess the young talent that it would take to acquire Acuña Jr., but ESPN's David Schoenfield believes that the Rays could be a potential match, proposing a deal involving starting pitcher Shane Baz and a quarter of intriguing prospects, headlined by shortstop Carson Williams.
It's easy to see why the Braves would target a shortstop like Williams in any deal for Acuña Jr., as they have gotten little production from Nick Allen this season and haven't had a dependable shortstop since Dansby Swanson left in free agency after the 2022 season. The 22-year-old Williams, who entered the season as MLB Pipeline's ninth-ranked prospect, has since slipped down to 31 after posting an unsightly Triple-A strikeout rate, but he has still displayed the elite power and defensive potential that could make him an MLB All-Star.
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The Braves would also fill another one of their needs with the addition of Baz, who could help replace the injured Schwellenbach and Smith-Shawver as the club's right-handed power pitcher. Injuries and inconsistencies have prevented the 26-year-old from reaching his potential thus far, but he still throws as hard as any starter in baseball and generates ground balls at an elite rate. He has all the makings of a pitcher who would succeed outside of the bandbox that is George Steinbrenner field, perhaps recapturing the success of 2024 in which he posted a 2.09 ERA over his last nine starts.
Schoenfield's package is rounded out with outfield prospect Theo Gillen and pitching prospects Brody Hopkins and Yoniel Curet. Though he shouldn't be expected to replace Acuña, Gillen is a very intriguing prospect in his own right, as the 2024 first-round pick currently sits as MLB Pipeline's 67th-ranked prospect thanks to a polished offensive approach and plus speed. Hopkins, meanwhile, is another highly-regarded prospect who was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the Randy Arozarena trade. Like so many others, the six-foot-four-inch right-hander has taken a step forward under the Rays' development program and has struck 94 batters in 74.2 Double-A innings. The package is rounded up with Curet, who, despite being the least-regarded player in this trade proposal due to injuries and poor command, possesses an elite fastball that earned a rare 70 grade from MLB Pipeline.
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