ESPN’s three hypothetical trades for Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr.

The Braves aren’t going to trade Ronald Acuña Jr. at the trade deadline or anytime soon for a plethora of reasons, but primarily because nobody could possibly come up with a trade package grand enough for Alex Anthopoulos to consider moving off a top three player in baseball that has three more years of team-friendly control after this season.

Still, that hasn’t stopped the folks over at ESPN from cooking up three hypothetical trade packages for the Braves star, and while I don’t think there’s a one-percent chance of Acuña actually being moved, I do think these hypothetical offers do a good job of painting the picture of exactly why he’s not going anywhere.

Offer No. 1: Milwaukee Brewers offer SS Jesus Made (No. 5), SS Luis Pena, OF Sal Frelick, RHP Logan Henderson, RHP Abner Uribe

Offer No. 2: Seattle Mariners offer SS Colt Emerson (No. 10), RHP Bryce Miller, C Harry Ford, OF Lazaro Montes, LHP Brandyn Garcia

Offer No. 3: Tampa Bay Rays offer SS Carson Willliams (No. 27), RHP Shane Baz, OF Theo Gillen, RHP Yoniel Curet, RHP Brody Hopkins

The one that could get it done: Mariners

All of these packages feature numerous top prospects and at least one proven MLB talent with several years of control. They are good players, but none of them are even close to enough to swing a trade for one of the most marketable stars in the game that’s set to make less than $21 million in each of the next three seasons.

If the Braves decide to move off Acuña for whatever reason, it wouldn’t be because they are looking to undergo a total rebuild. It’s because they are trying to fill out the rest of their roster with MLB ready talent. A couple of 18-year-old shortstops, even if they project to have bright futures, Sal Frelick and Logan Henderson are not going to get the job done.

The Mariners offer at least has some legs. Bryce Miller is a really talented pitcher, but he’s currently dealing with elbow inflammation. Harry Ford and Lazaro Montes are two very intriguing  prospects with high upside that are at least somewhat close to the majors, and Colt Emerson could end up being a stud at shortstop in a couple of years. Still, this isn’t getting the conversation started.

For the Braves to even consider trading Ronald Acuña Jr., the offer would have to look so unrealistic that it wouldn’t even make sense, which is why it won’t be happening for quite some time. The 2025 campaign may already be over, but this is not an organization that is thinking about selling off their star players and entering a rebuild anytime soon. Major-league ready studs would have to come back in return.