ST. LOUIS — The Home Run Derby field is having a last-minute shakeup.
On Friday, Major League Baseball announced that Matt Olson will replace his Braves teammate Ronald Acuña Jr. at the 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby, which will take place Monday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Truist Park in Atlanta.
“Obviously they want to have a Braves representative there, and yeah, I was happy to do it,” Olson said.
Olson has crushed 134 home runs since joining the Braves in 2022, the fifth-most in the Majors during that span. The 31-year-old Olson has a .267/.368/.481 slash line and 17 home runs in 92 games for the Braves this season.
Born and raised in Atlanta, this figures to be a special event for Olson to play in front of his hometown team. This will be Olson’s second Derby appearance, as he appeared in the 2021 edition at Coors Field, hitting 23 home runs in the first round but just failing to move to the second round after falling short of Trey Mancini’s 24 homers.
“Just being able to know what to expect is good,” Olson said. “And obviously taking a lot of at-bats at Truist, it should be pretty comfortable.”
Olson can’t wait to put on a show in his hometown.
“It makes it 10 times better,” Olson said. “It’s something you dream about doing, and being a little kid and I went to the last Home Run Derby in Atlanta. I had visions of doing it myself, so to be able to get the chance, I thank Ronald.”
On Tuesday against the A’s, Acuña was scratched with back tightness. While he returned to the lineup on Wednesday and played his third straight game on Friday, the decision was all about staying in the lineup for the second half.
“First, I want to apologize to all the fans that are going to be out there, and I really wanted to put on a show for them,” Acuña said through an interpreter. “But for me, this is just more of a precaution, more than anything. I’m committed to this team, and I need to be available.”
It was Acuña’s decision to not participate.
“Just the incredible amount of energy to be able to kind of just sustain that the whole time,” Acuña said. “And I think not just for myself, but if anyone sort of has anything going on with their back, I think it’s just one of those things where I think you want to just stay away from it to avoid any consequences that could happen.”
Acuña was the first player confirmed for the Derby field on June 25. Despite not making his season debut until May 23 as he finished rehabbing from his season-ending left knee injury from 2024, Acuña has been on a tear with a .324/.441/.581 slash line, 11 home runs and 2.1 Wins Above Replacement (FanGraphs) in 42 games. The Braves superstar was also selected to start the All-Star Game for the National League, his fifth Midsummer Classic selection.
“He had the back issue in Sacramento, and I think it’s a smart move by him to not want to push that like that,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “That just shows growth and maturity in him. And he’s putting the team first. So that’s awesome. I’m glad Matt was available to step in to have a hometown guy.”
