Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. has expressed desire multiple times to play for his home country, Venezuela, in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. But it appears that won't be happening this year as the Braves want to keep the 25-year-old outfielder out of the preseason event for precautionary reasons.

Acuña tore his ACL in July 2021 and had surgery shortly thereafter. He returned to MLB action on April 28, 2022 and played through the rest of the season, including the playoffs.

Over the weekend, Acuña said he would "probably not" be suiting up in the March event for his country.

"I have always said that I want to represent my country, but that's not a decision I can make," Acuña told reporters, including The Athletic, through an interpreter at a team event. "The team, the medics and the staff will take care of that."

Earlier this month, Acuña posted (and quickly deleted) an Instagram Story questioning why he could not play for Venezuelan after playing most of the 2022 MLB season.