Ronald Acuña Jr. could debut in Venezuelan Winter League later this week

Ronald Acuña Jr. is set to play in the Venezuelan Winter League this offseason and could make his debut for Tiburones de La Guaira as soon as Thursday. That is also the day that the BBWAA will announce the winner of the MVP Award for which Acuña is a finalist.

The details are still being worked out for how much Acuña will play, but he feels strongly that his short stint last season helped propel him to his monster season in 2023.

“There’s always time to learn, there’s always time to improve, and that’s one of the reasons why I’m here, to improve every day — as a person, as a ballplayer — and have a great year the [upcoming] season, God willing, [just] like this one.

“Like I’ve said before, with more time on the field, I think a ballplayer can develop his abilities and can get better results, improve his style of game,” Acuña added. “I think that was the case for me this year.”

The Braves were reluctant to let Acuña participate last offseason after he struggled with lingering soreness in his surgically repaired knee throughout the 2022 season. It appears that Acuña has their full support this time around. GM Alex Anthopoulos told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Justin Toscano during the GM Meetings that the team encourages their position players to play during the winter unless they are coming off of an injury.

Vaughn Grissom will also play winter ball in Puerto Rico this offseason and could see significant playing time in left field.