Braves superstar and 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. was diagnosed with a torn ACL on Sunday. The Venezuelan right fielder suffered the injury in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Acuña opened the game with a double, giving the Atlanta Braves early offense. After trying to steal third, he scurried back to second, but fell. His injury was non-contact and now is the worst severity possible. Acuña suffered a torn ACL in July of 2021, with his other knee now now the recipient of the bad news.
Ronald Acuña Jr. has left today’s game after a non-contact injury on the basepaths
(via @BravesOnBally)
pic.twitter.com/2MEPS7U9OR— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 26, 2024
Ronald Acuña 2024
The electrifying speedster and slugger Ronald Acuna Jr’s 2024 season is over before it fully rolled around. After playing in 48 games, Acuña’s season ends in disappointing numbers as well. The four-time All-Star posted a .246 batting average, .348 OBP, .356 SLG and .704 OPS, all career lows. What’s even worse is that Acuña’s strikeout percentage rose to 24.0% (worst since 2020), 48.5 hard hit percentage (career low) and 1.8 home run percentage (career low). Now, after a lengthy rehab in 2021 which affected his 2022 season, Acuña must start all over again. Now the other knee, Braves fans and Atlanta’s organization will ask themselves the long term questions about Acuña.
Atlanta Braves Organization
The Braves now must replace Ronald Acuna Jr in right field, which will most likely cause Adam Duvall to earn the position. In the mean time, Alex Anthopoulos will look to see if he can create the trade market to fill the gap. Atlanta is now down their best starter in Spencer Strider, and hitter in Acuna. While the Braves look for returns such as Sean Murphy and Austin Riley from injury, Acuña’s wait will extend into the 2025 season. The Braves look to do exactly the same with the 2021 season.
The Unfortunate Reality
One of baseball’s most exciting players, Ronald Acuna Jr. goes down with another season ending injury. On pace to create buzz for the hall of fame, Acuña broke records last season. The 40/70 season was conquered by the Braves fan favorite, and completed his quest for the title of MVP. Now, the amazing Ronald Acuna Jr. is spending another year out for the season. A heartbreaker for many in the baseball world.
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Atlanta Braves
