Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. is ‘like a bull ready for door to open’

“I’m healthy now, I feel really good,” he said late last week. “I feel 200% now.”

What does “200%” look like? Another 40-40 season? Another MVP win?

“I don’t know (about) 40-40, but I’m doing my best to help us win and make the playoffs,” Acuña said, then emphasizing that his priority is staying healthy. Every question of the sort was met with that consistent answer.

Acuña, for all his mind-boggling brilliance, must stay on the field if he’s going to help the team win and eventually take his place in the Hall of Fame; an honor his talent will certainly warrant, but he’ll need the counting stats.

The unwelcome injury developments have been humbling. He tore his ACL in 2021 just before the All-Star break, then saw the Braves win the World Series without him. He built back up, peaking in his MVP season, before tearing his other ACL the following year, again costing him life’s most valuable currency, time.

Since 2021, Acuña has played in 120 games only once, when he won MVP (159 games). He’s played in 144 contests across the past two years. His recovery led to a more conservative approach on the bases last year, but Acuña should be let loose again in 2026.

Acuña went 11-for-11 in stolen bases in 16 games while playing winter ball, which he said was done to reassure he’s feeling comfortable and normal.

That aspect is expected to return as a prominent part of his game this year, especially under new first-base coach Antoan Richardson, who arrives highly regarded for his work in that area. Most noteworthy, Richardson oversaw Mets star Juan Soto stealing 38 bases last year; his previous career best was 12.

“(I feel like) two years ago (physically),” Acuña said. “That’s the most important thing, feeling good, feeling healthy with my body and my knee.”

There are few talents equal to Acuña when he’s fully operational. He and the Braves will hope 2026 is another reminder.

Acuña will begin the season among the betting favorites for NL MVP, placed alongside his peers such as Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto. And if he stays healthy, it seems like a reasonable bet.

“Mentally, emotionally, he’s in a really good place,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “He’s missed some time the last few years. We all know he’s a Hall of Fame talent, but you have to do it for a while. He’s certainly capable of doing that. But I think the fact that he feels really healthy, his body feels good, he was running around in winter ball doing a bunch of things; I think he’s like a bull that’s ready for the door to open.”