Luisangel Acuña

Luisangel José Acuña (born March 12, 2002) is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder in the New York Mets organization.

Career
Acuña grew up in La Sabana, Venezuela. Acuña had agreed in principle to sign with the Atlanta Braves in 2017, but due to the Braves international signing scandal, Atlanta was stripped of its ability to pay his signing bonus and he returned to the open market. On July 2, 2018, Acuña signed with the Texas Rangers for a $425,000 signing bonus.

Acuña made his professional debut with the DSL Rangers of the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League in 2019, hitting .342/.438/.455/.893 with 2 home runs, 29 runs batted in (RBIs), and 17 stolen bases, and was named to the DSL All-Star team. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Acuña spent the 2021 season with the Down East Wood Ducks of the Low-A East. Over 111 games he hit .266/.345/.404/.749 with 12 home runs, 74 RBIs, and 44 stolen bases. Acuña was named the Rangers 2021 minor league Defender of the Year. Acuña opened the 2022 season with the Hickory Crawdads of the High-A South Atlantic League, hitting .317/.417/.483/.900 with eight home runs, 29 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases over 54 games. He was promoted to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Texas League on August 2 and finished the season after hitting .224/.302/.349/.651 with 3 home runs, 18 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases for Frisco. Acuña played for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League following the 2022 season, and was named to the Fall League All-Star team.

On November 15, 2022, the Rangers added Acuña to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Acuña was optioned back to Frisco to begin the 2023 season.

On July 30, 2023, the Rangers traded Acuña to the New York Mets in exchange for Max Scherzer and cash considerations. In 37 games, he batted .243/.317/.304 with 2 home runs, 12 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases. Acuña began the 2024 season with the Triple–A Syracuse Mets.

Personal life
Acuña comes from a baseball family. His brother, Ronald Acuña Jr., is an MLB outfielder. His father, Ronald Sr., played in minor league baseball for three organizations, and his younger brother Bryan currently plays in the Minnesota Twins organization.