Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. joins questionable agency on same day of shocking lawsuit

Atlanta’s star outfielder has joined an agency currently shrouded in controversy.

Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. is a highly sought-after talent. Few players have as many tools as the Atlanta outfielder.

Representing a generational talent like Acuña is a rare opportunity, making any agency fortunate to have him on their roster. It turns out that Bad Bunny’s agency has signed the Venezuelan star as a client.

Today, Rimas Sports — an agency founded by Bad Bunny — officially announced it has signed Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr.

It has not been a quiet time for the agency, as detailed below. https://t.co/35dea2lrV0

— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) May 16, 2024

Rimas Sports was created in 2021 to represent Latin players, and it presently has 68 clients, including 14 major leaguers. Acuña is the latest addition to the burgeoning roster.

However, just over a month ago, the MLBPA decertified Rimas agent William Arroyo and barred two other Rimas officials, Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda, from obtaining certification after accusing the organization of offering inappropriate player advantages.

On Thursday, the agency filed a complaint against the Major League Baseball Players Association, accusing them of “placing a death penalty” on them by conducting “a discriminatory, biased, and pre-determined investigation” into Rimas’ business activities.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the story and shared details from the lawsuit, which stated that “the MLBPA has effectively placed a death-penalty sanction on Rimas Sports as an agency and prohibited Rimas Entertainment, which is not in the sports agency business and has never had an MLBPA Certified Agent, from contracting with clients who may wish to secure branding, sponsorship, or endorsement deals.” These limits go way beyond the MLBPA’s power to govern its agents.”

Essentially, this lawsuit claims that the MLBPA has been plotting behind the scenes to “eliminate Rimas Sports from the sports agency market.” According to a letter filed with the case, MLB informed teams on April 28 that due to Rimas’ decertification, clubs should avoid speaking with him and instead approach players directly.

The MLBPA declined to respond via a spokeswoman for the organization.

Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. joins controversial agency on same day of explosive lawsuit

Ronald Acuña Jr. was thought to have signed with the agency in April, but the lawsuit was not revealed until Thursday. However, the union argued that the Atlanta star did not have a listed agent and that Rimas would not require certification to negotiate a player’s marketing agreements.

The organization’s largest client, Acuña, may be concerned about the possibility of signing a player who has been reportedly tampered with.

The lawsuit claims that MLBPA fines limited the agency’s ability to sign National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. as a client. According to the complaint, Topps, owned by Fanatics, informed Rimas Sports that they were unable to discuss marketing, endorsement, and sponsorship deals, including one for Ronald Acuña, due to MLBPA regulations.

This is an unwelcome distraction for Acuña, who has been struggling to start the season. He has not been the same player that won the National League MVP with easy ease in 2023. We don’t know if this has any influence on his performance, but it raises the question of whether extraneous distractions like this are affecting him.

Acuña is presently hitting.245 with 38 hits, including six doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. This is not what Braves fans have come to expect from their excellent right fielder.

Manager Brian Snitker rested the MLB superstar during Wednesday’s game against the Cubs, thereby giving him a couple of days off before the team’s next game on Friday. Hopefully, this allowed him to take some time to clear his head and return to the player he and fans know he can be.

It’s unclear how this will affect Ronald Acuña Jr. outside of baseball, but the legal process will continue.