Braves celebrity Ronald Acuna Jr. exited Sunday’s sport towards the Pirates within the first inning attributable to an obvious damage suffered whereas operating the bases, and he limped off the sector whereas gesturing to his left knee.
The Braves later termed the problem “left knee soreness.” Of observe, the ACL tear that required surgical procedure throughout the 2021 marketing campaign affected Acuna’s proper knee.
The severity of the damage just isn’t but clear and certain received’t be recognized intimately till after the sport, however it seems doubtless that Acuna will miss no less than a while because of the difficulty given his historical past of decrease half accidents. Along with the aforementioned ACL tear in his proper leg, Acuna has additionally suffered a left knee damage earlier than in his profession.
Throughout his rookie season again in 2018, the phenom suffered a left knee contusion and gentle sprain of his left ACL that stored him out of motion for one month.
An absence of just about any size for Acuna could be a serious blow to the Braves on the heels of a troublesome month of Might that’s seen them fall to second place within the NL East, seven video games again of the surging Phillies for the division crown. That’s notably true given the offensive funk the membership has discovered itself on this season; Atlanta’s hitters have collectively posted a wRC+ of simply 88 within the month of Might that leaves the Braves bottom-six amongst all main league golf equipment.
Acuna has been within the thick of that hunch. It’s been a relatively pedestrian begin to the season for the 26-year-old, as he’s posted a roughly league common .246/.348/.356 slash line in 221 journeys to the plate coming into play right now.
Regardless of these uninspiring numbers, there’s no denying Acuna’s skill to hold an offense when he’s at his finest; the star outfielder is in fact only one season faraway from a historic 2023 marketing campaign that noticed him win the NL MVP award whereas crushing 40 dwelling runs, swiping 70 stolen bases and main the main leagues with a .416 on-base proportion.
Acuna’s offensive malaise in 2024 after a standout 2023 season is shared between a lot of the Braves’ lineup. Austin Riley has not appeared in a sport in two weeks amid an intercostal damage however sported a wRC+ of simply 102 when wholesome sufficient to look in video games, and different key items corresponding to Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II have posted equally pedestrian numbers on the plate this season after the membership’s unbelievable 104-win marketing campaign final 12 months.
Wanting on the potential roster impacts of Acuna’s damage, Adam Duvall and Jarred Kelenic have been dealing with the nook outfield spots in Acuna’s absence Sunday, although it’s doable the membership may flip to Forrest Wall or J.P. Martinez to provide further depth ought to Acuna require a visit to the injured record.
It’s additionally doable that Acuna’s damage forces the Braves to decide relating to Riley’s damage, because the membership has successfully been enjoying a person down for 2 weeks whereas he’s been unavailable and the membership might not be capable of afford the shortage of manufacturing with out Acuna’s bat within the lineup.
