The Atlanta Braves have a Ronald Acuna Jr. problem. It won't affect them this season, but 2026 is the final year of the 28-year-old's contract before club options in 2026 and 2027.

ESPN's Buster Olney weighed in on the situation on Wednesday, via 92.9 The Game.

“He still has years to go on that contract, and he has also been significantly affected by injury in a couple of seasons. So if you’re the Braves, you’re going to want more information,” he explained. “And here’s the reality of how Alex [Anthopoulos] has operated in the past, when players get to that point where they have that huge market value price tag of a Kyle Tucker, of a [Shohei] Ohtani, a Juan Soto, the Braves don’t pay that. They don’t pay those numbers."

“The Braves feel like the best way to operate is to get the player at a potentially team-friendly contract, and if you don’t, you move onto plan B," he continued.

Acuna has the talent to be one of baseball's highest-paid outfielders, but he must stay healthy. The five-time All-Star hasn't played a full season since 2023 and has three out of seven seasons with under 100 games played, not counting the COVID-shortened campaign.

When Acuna is healthy, few players are better. The 2023 NL MVP has a career slash line of .289/.384/.524 over 817 games, is a three-time Silver Slugger, and a two-time NL stolen base leader.

If health stays on Acuna's side for the remainder of his contract with Atlanta, he may get too expensive for the organization. For example, Tucker received a four-year, $240 million deal ($60 million AAV) from the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason, and Olney's comments suggest that may be too rich for the Braves.

Acuna will make $17 million this season, and each of his club options is worth the same amount. That's as good as it gets from a team perspective for a player of his caliber, but his price will go up on his next deal if he stays healthy and maintains his regular production.

Acuna could see a similar payday to Tucker, who is a five-time All-Star with a career slash line of .273/.358/.507 over 769 games. The latter player now has the second-highest AAV in baseball only behind Ohtani, per Spotrac. There's no one definition for a "team-friendly" deal, as Olney put it, but it's fair to assume that the Braves would balk at that type of money based on his comments.

If Acuna gets hurt again and takes a cheaper deal to stay in Atlanta, then that would align with the organizational philosophy that Olney outlined. The Venezuelan star could also take a hometown discount if he loves the organization and doesn't want to leave. Other than that, it's hard to see how he finishes his career with the Braves.