Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. said he apologized to his teammates and manager Brian Snitker for posting a since-deleted tweet on X that implied a double standard by the skipper, according to David O’Brien of The Athletic.
Acuña, who’s recovering from knee surgery, caused a stir when he suggested he would’ve been removed from a game if the 2023 NL MVP did what teammate Jarred Kelenic did April 20 when the latter was thrown out at second base after admiring a long fly ball against the Minnesota Twins. However, Kelenic stayed in the contest, and Snitker admitted postgame that he didn’t see the play.
“I talked to them man-to-man,” Acuña said Wednesday through an interpreter while on a rehab assignment at Triple-A, according to 680 The Fan. “Admitted that I was wrong. I told them I was not coming here with any excuses. Took accountability for what I did.”
The 27-year-old added that he was upset at the time he posted the comment because he couldn’t help his then-slumping team, which had a 8-13 record at that point in large part because of a seven-game losing streak to start the season.
“I’ve always just felt such a strong sense of pride of being a member of this organization,” Acuña said. “I want to be here my whole career. So, seeing the team and my teammates going through (struggles) and not being able to help … was where the frustration was coming from.”
Acuña could rejoin the Braves at the end of May or early June based on his rehab games.
