Braves, Ronald Acuña Jr. Agree to 8-Year Contract Extension

Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves in 2018
Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves in 2018. Photo by Austin Mcafee/CSM/REX/Shutterstock (9889231ag)

2019’s National League Rookie of the Year has a new contract and a guaranteed future with the Atlanta Braves.

Ronald Acuña Jr., who ran away with the award as the league’s best rookie at 20 years old last season, has come to terms with an agreement for an eight-year, $100 million contract extension with his team.

Acuña, who would’ve been a free agent after the 2024 season, will now stick around in Atlanta until at least 2026. The deal also includes two club options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

The Venezuelan outfielder was one of baseball’s top prospects before making his debut in April of 2018.

In his standout rookie season, Acuña played in 111 games and posted a .293/.366/.552 slash line. He belted 29 home runs and drove in 74 runs for the NL East-winning Braves.

Acuña hit his first home run of the 2019 season in Atlanta’s Monday night 8-0 win over the Cubs.

The deal is the most valuable contract extension in the history of MLB for a player aged 21 or under.

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