The Atlanta Braves sent top prospect Ronald Acuna to AAA to begin the season. Is this the right move?
Baseball is a great game. Major League Baseball, regarding young, quality talent, maybe the healthiest it has ever been. There are players on basically every team in the game where if you’re buying a ticket to the game, you’re going to see someone supremely talented. For the Atlanta Braves, that guy won’t be on the club to start the season.
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Ronald Acuna is one of if not the top prospect in the game today. He blew past three levels of the minor leagues last year and hit .432 during Spring Training. However, due to the clubs ability to manipulate service time rules, Acuna won’t be up in the big leagues until April 13 at the earliest. Why? Control.
The Braves informed Acuna of the decision after today's game. The heralded prospect will have to remain in the Minors until at least April 13 for the Braves to gain an extra year of contractual control.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) March 19, 2018
The Chicago Cubs did the same thing with Kris Bryant back in 2015, when Bryant was the best player in Spring Training, but he was sent down to start the season.
The Atlanta Braves left fielder as of right now would be either Preston Tucker or Lane Adams. Acuna is better than both of those players right now.
By May 1 will this matter? No. Acuna will be the left fielder for the Braves and be doing something that makes you say WOW at least once a game. The Braves had ignored this service time loophole before when Jason Heyward started the season as a rookie and hit a homer in his first game.
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Baseball is a great game. However, it has some dumb rules in the CBA. One of them is this service time manipulation that teams do year in and year out for that extra year of control over that player.
MLB’s labor agreement expires December 1, 2021. This service time manipulation that the Atlanta Braves are using is just one example of why that date could lead to baseball Armageddon.