Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. addresses critical social-media post about manager Brian Snitker, looks forward

“I was just frustrated with my situation in the sense of being able to return to the team,” Acuña said through interpreter Franco García. “It just felt like I’m coming off a second major injury, I’m in Florida, away from my teammates, the team is struggling. Those were the things that were sort of frustrating in that sense. I’ve always just felt such a strong sense of pride of being a member of this organization, I want to be here my whole career. So, just seeing the team and my teammates go through that, and not being able to help and not being able to be with them, is where the frustration is coming from.”

On April 19 against the Twins, Jarred Kelenic admired a ball he sent toward the wall. But instead of going over for a home run, it hit the top of the wall. Kelenic, jogging at first, tried to sprint to second and was thrown out. Snitker didn’t bench him.

Of this situation, Acuña replied to an X post with this now-deleted response: “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.”

The context: In August of 2019, Snitker pulled Acuña from the game after he watched a hit instead of running hard. In the postseason that year, Acuña once again admired a fly ball that resulted in only a single during a one-run loss to the Cardinals.

Acuña on Tuesday said he doesn’t have any hard feelings about those incidents and denied that he harbors any ill-will toward Snitker.

“No, no, that was just a moment of frustration for me,” he said of his recent post. “But thankfully, I was able to apologize to Snit. I was in the wrong. I shouldn’t have done that. But thankfully I was able to apologize to Snit – man-to-man, to his face. I was able to apologize to my teammates. And now we’re just turning the page and moving on.”

Acuña met with Snitker, and then the team, before Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to the Nationals at Truist Park.

“Good,” Snitker said of his conversation with Acuña. “No, it was good. It was good to see him, actually. He looks good. He’s lean. But he came to me before he talked to the club.”

Did he seem contrite?

“Yeah, absolutely. Yeah,” Snitker said. “No, I think he was. Now, I’m excited to get him back going (Thursday) in Gwinnett. He looks great. He’s lean.”

If everyone is moving on – then it’s good news for the Braves. They need Acuña in MVP form when he returns. And they’ll soon get back Spencer Strider, who on Wednesday afternoon threw five simulated innings at Truist Park.

Acuña took three at-bats – and homered in the last one – while playing for the Florida Complex League team on Tuesday. He also played right field. Acuña will have his rehab assignment transferred to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday. The Braves haven’t given a timeline, but this could set up Acuña to return somewhat soon, perhaps even for the team’s next home stand, which begins May 23 against the Padres.

The best-case scenario is there are no lingering feelings from anyone – Acuña, Snitker or other players – about the situation. After all, while his team was trying to climb back to .500, Acuña, who wasn’t physically with the team at that point, sent a social media post that didn’t help matters.

Was his point valid? Perhaps.

Could he have gone about expressing it differently? Maybe.

But Acuña insisted he’s on good terms with everyone, including his manager. Asked what he said when he talked to Snitker, Acuña said: “Just apologized and asked for his forgiveness for what I posted and for being a distraction. Just wanted to clear the air and move on.”

And the post could’ve made some of Acuña’s teammates angry. Did he sense any hard feelings among them when he apologized?

“No, I don’t think so,” Acuña said. “I talked to them man-to-man, admitted that I was wrong. I told them I’m not coming here with any excuses, took accountability for what I did. And we have a really good relationship and a really good dynamic amongst one another, so I think we’ll be able to move on just fine.”

Of Acuña’s meeting with the team, Bryce Elder, who started Wednesday’s game, said: “Yeah, yeah, he spoke with us before the game, and he had a meeting with us. He handled it well and he did his part, so that’s all I can ask for. We’re ready to have him back.”

The Braves, who have struggled offensively for much of the first couple months, could use Acuña. At his best, the former National League MVP is one of the most dynamic players in the sport. He can hit for power and average, and features terrific speed. Will he play the same way upon his return from a second ACL tear? We’ll see. But he’ll be an injection of talent.

The same can be said for Strider. On Wednesday, he threw around 65 pitches over five simulated “innings” – in quotes because it was a controlled environment. Pitching coach Rick Kranitz said Strider’s simulated outing went as expected, which is a positive.

“For me, it was more about how he held his stuff, how he came out of it holding his balance throughout his delivery, with the hamstring (injury),” Kranitz said. “For me, he looked great.”

Strider’s four-seam fastball registered from 93-95 mph, which is lower than you would expect if you were comparing it to what he might do in an actual game. But Kranitz didn’t seem concerned about the right-hander’s velocity. Strider, after all, has pitched in a game that counts once since his surgery last April.

“I’m looking more at how the ball gets to home plate, meaning the life on the pitches,” Kranitz said. “Velocity’s great, but it’s about the action on the ball that really makes the difference. I felt like the ball was coming out really well, I thought that he touched all of his pitches. His slider, kind of in and out with his slider at times, but the good ones were really, really good. His curveball was good, I thought his changeup was fantastic. He did a lot of good things today.”

The Braves will now meet to decide on Strider’s next step. He could start in Washington next week. Or he could make a rehab start. Around a week before this simulated game, Strider said he felt ready to go if his next outing were to be in the majors. But the Braves decided to have him do the simulated outing.

Strider is an ultra-competitive human. He acknowledged that the trainers will hold him back – and rightfully so – when necessary. This is why you’ll often hear athletes say they’re ready to come off the injured list before a team decides they need a bit more time.

“It’s our job, my job – all of jobs, really, especially mine – is to protect them from themselves, right?” Kranitz said. “Because we’ve been through this a few times – not with him, but other guys. That’s why they’re the best in the world at what they do, because they want to be out there and they want to compete.”

What does Kranitz need to see from Strider to know he’s ready to make his second start of the season for the Braves?

“He hadn’t pitched in a while, right?” Kranitz said. “We gotta get sharp. We gotta get sharper. But overall, I thought the pitches all matched up to what we’ve always known from him. We’re all going to meet and figure out what we’re going to do next.”

Strider’s return will be a boost to the rotation. Thus far, the Braves have received great contributions from Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and AJ Smith-Shawver in the absence of Strider and Reynaldo López (a shoulder clean-up procedure).

Acuña, on the other hand, will help the lineup. He said he feels 100% because he and the Braves have been deliberate throughout this lengthy process. He feels they’ve executed the plan they set out following his surgery last May.

So, Acuña feels his last box to check is simple.

“Just stay ready for the fastball,” he said. “That’s it.”

How many games might he need with Gwinnett before rejoining the Braves? Acuña laughed when asked this question.

“I don’t know,” he said with a smile. “I think you’re going to have to ask the boss.”

Acuña said he’d never faced a situation like this in his career: His teammates were struggling mightily and he couldn’t help. He couldn’t play. As they lost games, he couldn’t do anything.

He sent the post on social media. Now he’s looking ahead.

“That, to me, was the most frustrating part, and not being able to help or do anything about it,” Acuña said. “But thankfully we’ve turned the page and we’re moving forward, and excited to go out there and be able to go help.”