How does Acu?a stack up vs. Soto? Ask someone who's been a teammate of both

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NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. were among the elite players Jurickson Profar played with while spending much of the past decade with the Padres. He also spent last year battling 2024 National League MVP Shohei Ohtani and the star-studded Dodgers.

So, as he prepares to begin his career with the Braves and compete against Soto within the challenging National League East, there was reason to ask Profar where Ronald Acuña Jr. should rank among the game’s best players.

“Acu?a and Tatis are a different level,” Profar said. “I think maybe Ohtani is up there with them. They are in a league of their own. If they’re healthy, the sky is the limit for them.”

Ohtani grabbed headlines with the 10-year $700 million deal the Dodgers gave him before the 2024 season and Soto stole the spotlight this past winter, when he signed a 15-year $765 million deal with the Mets. If his two options are exercised, Acu?a will draw $68 million ($17 million annually) over the final four seasons of the eight-year, $100 million contract he signed on April 2, 2019.

Ohtani will make $70 million a year ($68 million deferred every season) over the life of his contract. Soto will make $46.875 million both of the next two years and again during the 2028 and ’29 seasons. He’ll have to pinch pennies while making just $42.5 million in 2027.

Acu?a would enter the free agent market as a 31-year-old if the life of his current contract is maximized, so he’ll have a chance to land his own mega deal. But for now, the 2023 NL MVP is just intent on returning to the field to show how great he can be when healthy.

Acu?a has hit .289 with 165 homers, 196 steals and a .904 OPS over 722 games. He is the only player in MLB history to tally 160-plus homers and record 190-plus steals through their 26-year-old season.

And don’t forget, four of his first seven seasons have been of the partial variety. He debuted a few weeks into the 2018 season and spent a month that year on the injured list. After the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he missed the second half of 2021 with a torn right ACL. He missed four months last year with a torn left ACL.

Acu?a’s power-speed combo set him apart. Will the knee injuries rob him of some of that speed? The dynamic outfielder says he needs to be a little smarter on the bases. But it will be interesting to see how his competitive edge influences what he does on the field. In other words, he might not swipe 70 bags in a season again. But 20-30 steals with 40-plus homers on an annual basis would keep him ranked among the game’s elite.

And then there’s the incredible arm. Defensive metrics haven’t always been kind to Acu?a. But the eye test has led me to think he’s more than adequate as a right fielder.

There’s already reason to question when Soto might need to become a designated hitter. I don’t see that question being asked about Acu?a at any point over the next 10 years.

As Profar said, there’s something very special about Acu?a. The only question now seems to be whether the Braves outfielder will be back doing his thing in the first half or second half of May. His return from this latest knee surgery will certainly be celebrated throughout the baseball world.

Well, maybe not in Queens and Philly.