Key Highlights
- He’s trying to win the center-field job and stick in the majors, which he wasn’t able to do last season as an infielder with the New York Mets. Acuña, the younger brother of Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., turns 24 next month and has yet to get a prolonged opportunity to show off his talents at the major league level.
- This is his best shot, and he fully intends on taking advantage of it. Acquired in late January along with pitching prospect Truman Pauley for Luis Robert Jr., Acuña was off to a good start in the Cactus League before being removed from Wednesday’s game with a cut above his left eye when his helmet came off and hit him in the face while he was sliding into second.
- Acuña received four stitches and said afterward his exit was precautionary and he would miss only a couple of days. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAcuña’s arrival at Camelback Ranch was memorable for reasons out of his control.
- A few days into camp, a blogger put together a video reel of general manager Chris Getz referring to him as a switch hitter on four occasions and posted it on social media. There was no way around it.
- Getz misspoke, and no one around him corrected the mistake to him. It was easy pickings for fans who hold Getz accountable for two of the three straight 100-plus-loss seasons, along with those who blame Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf for handing him the job during the 2023 season without looking outside the organization. The gaffe also put a spotlight on Acuña, who was ranked the No.
