Braves pick up Ronald Acuña Jr.'s $17 million option and Ozzie Albies' $7 million option

The Atlanta Braves exercised Ronald Acuña Jr.'s $17 million option for 2027 on Thursday and picked up Ozzie Albies' $7 million option, keeping both stars under contract for next season.

The team also reinstated starters Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider, Hurston Waldrep and Joey Wentz from the 60-day injured list, MLB.com reported.

Nobody expected a different outcome. Acuña's option carried a $10 million buyout, so declining it would have saved Atlanta only $7 million on a former MVP. MLB Trade Rumors noted these were the Braves' only option decisions this winter.

Acuña, 28, signed a $100 million, eight-year deal in 2019 that included this option and another $17 million option for 2028, which has no buyout, according to the Associated Press. He hit .255 with 20 homers, 55 RBIs and 21 stolen bases this year, with a .255/.345/.451 slash line. A strained left hamstring cost him time twice, from May 2 to 19 and from June 10 to July 27.

That was a step back from his 2025 season, when he hit .290/.417/.518 after returning from the second ACL tear of his career, MLB Trade Rumors noted. The 2028 option means Atlanta controls him for two more seasons.

Albies is entering the last year of the seven-year, $35 million deal he signed in 2019. The four-time All-Star, 29, hit a career-low .237 this season with 22 homers and 73 RBIs, but he was one of seven players in the majors to appear in all 162 of his team's games. He can become a free agent after 2027.

The pitching moves are the other half of Thursday's news. Taking Strider, Schwellenbach, Waldrep and Wentz off the 60-day list puts all four back on the 40-man roster as the offseason opens.