The Atlanta Braves have posted a division-worst record so far in 2025 following some harsh injury luck and a quiet offseason.
The team was without ace pitcher Spencer Strider for much of 2024 and the beginning of 2025. And, even after making a strong return to the mound this season, Strider has been placed back on the injured list.
The Braves have also been without franchise slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. since he tore his ACL in May 2024. A healthy return from him could do a lot to boost the Braves’ record, though he’s impacted the team in a less helpful way from the sidelines.
After Braves manager Brian Snitker opted not to bench Jarred Kelenic when a failure to hustle led him to be thrown out at second base on Sunday, Acuña tweeted that Snitker “would take me out of the game” if he had done the same.
That post has drawn significant criticism, particularly from ex-Braves outfielder and broadcaster Jeff Francoeur. On Tuesday, Francoeur appeared on 680 The Fan and called Acuña’s tweet “meaningless and stupid.”
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Now, Francoeur has doubled down on his criticism of Acuña in an appearance on Bleacher Report, noting that the Braves have succeeded without the superstar in the past.
“I think that’s frustrating for a lot of those guys (on the team),” he said. “It’s kind of burying a teammate… The Braves are a better team with Ronald Acuña Jr. How could you not (be)? But I will just bring it into context again, that they won the World Series without him.”
Francoeur added that, when Acuña was benched for failing to hustle on the basepaths, he had been warned by Snitker “about five, six, seven, eight times” first.
Ultimately, Francoeur and the Braves hope to get a healthy and effective Acuña back on the field soon so that they can put this controversy behind him. But in the meantime, the team will be looking to generate some on-field success without the superstar.
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