Acuna and Albies Set Stage for Braves Future
Shortly following my post "Big Fish in a Small Pond," in which I talked about the risk the Braves play with having to sign their young superstar talent, the Braves were able to sign both Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. to extensions that secured the duo for at least seven more years. This came as a great surprise as the deals turned out to be potentially the best case scenario for the Braves as they advance with their young talent. Although the Braves are going to have to dish out $100 million or more on Ronald Acuna, he could bud in to the best bargain for that amount in years especially considering the contracts that current young stars Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and Manny Machado just inked. Ozzie Albies contract could also play out to also be the most organizational friendly contract ever signed by a star second baseman. The deals signed will hopefully help the Braves retain their young stars in to their early thirties and well through their prime years while also not eating up too much cap to limit the remaining rosters talent. The contracts are also reasonable enough that another team would have no issues picking up the contract if any deal were to ever be made to part ways with one of the players. In the long run, I do not foresee either player being dealt, as it seems the Braves had a vision in mind to place these two talents as the core of a young talented team for years to come. The Braves will also have a decision to make on long time first baseman Freddie Freeman as he is due to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2021 season. Freeman will then be in to his early thirties at this point and will more than likely not be looking to secure a long term deal due to age. It will be interesting to see how the Braves hope to approach this situation, but I do not see them making in extensions or deals with Freeman until closer to when that time comes. The Braves initiative to secure their two budding stars just before their prime years will help set the stage in the next few years for new stars to emerge and hopefully also be secured by the organization for reasonable amounts in order to bring baseball success back to the city of Atlanta.
