{"id":576888,"date":"2026-02-17T05:13:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T05:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/576888\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T05:13:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T05:13:22","slug":"analyst-urges-atlanta-braves-to-give-ronald-acuna-jr-500-million-contract-extension-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/576888\/","title":{"rendered":"Analyst Urges Atlanta Braves to Give Ronald Acuna Jr. $500 Million Contract Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Atlanta Braves<\/a> are preparing for a new season. They are hoping that Ronald Acuna Jr. can find a way to stay healthy. While on the field, the All-Star outfielder has been incredible. The problem is that he’s only played in 120 or more games in a season on two separate occasions since making his big league debut back in 2018.<\/p>\n

The two seasons in which he accomplished the feat came in 2019 and 2023. The result? A fifth place National League MVP finish in 2019, and in 2023 Acuna won the award. In 2025, Acuna slashed .290\/.417\/.518, but appeared in only 95 total games.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Acuna’s current contract includes club options for both 2027 and 2028. However, should Atlanta consider offering him a contract extension? Former MLB general manager and current analyst Jim Bowden believes so. In fact, Bowden even suggested a 10-year, $500 million extension, something he said<\/a> via MLB Network Radio.<\/p>\n

“Do it right now and do not wait until he has an MVP season,” Bowden explained. “Because if he has an MVP season, he’s going to be $800 million a year from now. I’m not exaggerating… Or he’s going to be $75 million a year for five years with three opt-outs. So, if you want him, sign him coming off 21 homers and nine steals… I would put $500 million in front of him right now for 10 years and see if he takes it.”<\/p>\n

Bowden’s point is understandable. He believes the Braves should sign Acuna now while he may be open to agreeing to a cheaper contract. Although $500 million is still lucrative, it is obviously a much more affordable deal than what Acuna could command if he has another MVP-caliber campaign.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

It’s a risk-reward decision. If healthy, Acuna is arguably the best position player in the game. If you sign him to a 10-year extension, though, the injury risk cannot be ignored.<\/p>\n

The Braves do not have to rush into discussing an extension with Acuna. Sure, his possible extension price would sky-rocket with a big 2026 season. Another injury-riddled year may cause Atlanta to hesitate on the extension idea, though.<\/p>\n

In a perfect world, Ronald Acuna Jr. would stay healthy for the rest of his career. Injuries are an unfortunate part of sports, however. They have played a role in Acuna’s career, and a 10-year contract would be a massive risk.<\/p>\n

Will Atlanta listen to Bowden’s advice and make him a 10-year offer? Or will the Braves end up waiting before offering him a new deal?<\/p>\n

Only time will tell, but the club options for the next two seasons are pivotal. They provide the Braves with extra time before making a final decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Atlanta Braves are preparing for a new season. They are hoping that Ronald Acuna Jr. can find…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":576889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2394],"tags":[191,46,4166,5,192,10454,3804,4,75649,921,5095],"class_list":["post-576888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-atlanta-braves","tag-atlanta","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-atlantabraves","tag-baseball","tag-braves","tag-contract-extension","tag-jim-bowden","tag-mlb","tag-mvp-season","tag-ronald-acuna-jr","tag-the-braves"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116084265035120760","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}