ATLANTA -- Alex Anthopoulos didn’t reach for the kind of over-the-top vow Braves fans once heard from a previous front office leader, but he still left no room for interpretation on Ronald Acuña Jr.
The Braves president of baseball operations said plainly that Acuña is not going anywhere this winter, brushing aside the trade chatter that has circulated among fans in recent weeks.
“There’s not even a hint of smoke to it,” Anthopoulos said. “There’s zero.”
Pressed again on whether Acuña would be traded, Anthopoulos doubled down.
“Absolutely not. Yeah.
There you go. Put it in bold.”
Anthopoulos made it clear the Braves haven’t even entertained the idea of moving one of their biggest stars. Instead, he said the focus is on building around him.
“We need him,” Anthopoulos said. “We need to add to him. Obviously, we need more than just him.”
That work will continue this week at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, where Anthopoulos will sort through a roster that still has plenty of holes. Atlanta needs help in the rotation, has a shortstop vacancy to address, must decide how to handle left field and still has bullpen questions to answer.
Acuña’s status is part of that bigger offseason picture. He’s coming off a frustrating, injury-hit season in which he hit .255 with 20 homers, 21 stolen bases and a .796 OPS across 107 games. Two left hamstring strains kept him on the injured list for nearly two months.
The bigger question for the Braves is what comes next for the 2023 NL MVP, who has already dealt with major knee injuries in his career, tearing his left ACL in 2021 and his right ACL in 2024. Still, there were encouraging signs late this season. Acuña finished the year with a .997 OPS over his final 26 regular-season games, a stretch that echoed the .935 OPS he posted after returning from the right ACL tear two months into the 2025 season.
“He’s a huge part of the club,” Anthopoulos said. “We need right-handed bats. He was an integral part of our lineup, especially in the biggest games of the year in September.”
Atlanta’s lineup issues go beyond Acuña’s health. The recent drops from Austin Riley and Sean Murphy have made the need for a right-handed bat even more obvious, and left field remains an open spot. That has led to internal discussion about possible additions such as Randy Arozarena or Seiya Suzuki.
If the Braves go the platoon route in left field, Mike Yastrzemski could fill the left-handed side of the arrangement. The right-handed half could potentially be Jurickson Profar, though that remains unsettled.
Profar is in the final year of a three-year contract and has appeared in only 80 games during that span. He was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance in 2025, then received a 162-game suspension after testing positive again this year.
“[Manager Walt Weiss] and I have started to talk about that role, things like that,” Anthopoulos said. “We haven’t come to any conclusions at all.
But look, it’s a topic. It’s something that’s going to need to be addressed at some point.
The good news is it doesn’t have to be addressed today, because we have the offseason and the roster can change and things can change.”
In Other News...
Nationals Still Need A Closer And One Familiar Name Fits
The Nationals still have a late-inning question hanging over their roster, and the market may have just nudged one familiar name into view. Evan Phillips is now headed to Atlanta on a three-year contract, a move that makes it likely Raisel Iglesias will not be back with the Braves, and that leaves a proven closer suddenly available in a winter where Washington still needs help at the back end of games.
Iglesias has long fit the profile of the kind of reliever the Nationals could use, especially on a one-year deal that would give the club stability without a long commitment. For a team trying to tighten up its bullpen and avoid overextending itself, the appeal is obvious, even if this remains more a logical fit than a confirmed pursuit. [Read more 🡒]
James Wood Just Gave Nationals Fans A Bigger Reason To Believe
James Woods rise just got another national spotlight. The young outfielder was named to the first-team All-MLB in the 2026 MLB Awards, a recognition that puts him among the games best and gives Washington a fresh centerpiece to point to as it tries to build toward something bigger. He became the first Nationals player to earn All-MLB status since 2021, a reminder that the organization has at least one emerging star already performing on a stage that matters beyond the standings.
Wood did it over 135 games, and the production was hard to miss even with 27 games lost to injury. He finished with 30 home runs and a .388 on-base percentage, the kind of blend that makes him look less like a promising piece and more like a foundational one. The rest of the awards season offered a few more encouraging signs for Washington too, with CJ Abrams drawing support in National League MVP voting, but Woods honor is the one that really changes the conversation around the clubs future. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Draft Lottery Outlook Leaves Plenty Still In Play
A fresh look at the MLB draft lottery landscape shows just how much can still swing before the Nationals learn where they will pick in 2027. One million simulations were run using the odds structure that has been in place since the current collective bargaining agreement, offering a clearer picture of how the lottery has played out in recent years and how teams like Washington and the Mets have fit into that system.
The timing of the next lottery is part of the intrigue, too, with the 2027 event expected to land during the Winter Meetings in December unless a possible CBA lockout changes the calendar. For a Nationals club trying to map out its future, the main takeaway is simple enough: plenty remains in play, and the final shape of the draft order is still a long way from settled. [Read more 🡒]