Reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. suffered a fully torn left ACL during today’s game, as the Braves announced following an MRI examination tonight. Acuna will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the 2024 season.
Acuna was taking a lead off second base during the first inning of today’s 8-1 Atlanta win over the Pirates when he faked a possible steal attempt with a move towards third base. However, Acuna’s left leg twisted under him and he fell to the ground in obvious pain. Speaking with reporters after the game, Acuna said that he didn’t feel a pop in his knee and expressed hope that might perhaps miss just a month of action if his knee was only strained, but unfortunately the MRI has revealed the worst-case scenario for the star outfielder.
This is the second major knee surgery of Acuna’s career, as he previously tore his right ACL on July 10, 2021. He was able to return to action quicker than expected and was back in the Braves lineup by the end of April 2022, though it didn’t seem like he was quite back in full form, as Acuna batted a relatively underwhelming .266/.351/.413 over 533 plate appearances that season.
With a full and normal offseason of prep and recovery over the winter of 2022-23, Acuna bounced back with not just his best season, but one of the best all-around seasons in the history of the sport. Acuna was a unanimous choice as NL MVP after hitting .337/.416/.596 with 41 homers and 73 stolen bases (in 87 attempts). This made Acuna the first player to ever have a 40-50 season, let alone establishing the 40-60 and 40-70 clubs to boot.
That type of season would’ve been a tough act to follow for anyone, but Acuna was hitting only .246/.348/.356 over 221 PA heading into what ended up as his final game of the 2024 campaign. Acuna’s barrel rates were still above average but well below his career norms, and both his home run total (four) and his overall power numbers sharply dropped. He also reverted back to his pre-2023 free-swinging ways, after he was one of baseball’s toughest hitters to strike out last season.
We’ll now never know if Acuna could’ve shaken off this slow start, as he is facing yet another brutally long absence from the Braves lineup. Since Acuna suffered a complete tear in his ACL, his recovery figures to be on the longer side of the usual 7-10 month timeframe for such surgeries. This would still put him in line to return by Opening Day 2025, though it seems quite possible Acuna and the Braves might explore a longer rehab this time given that it is Acuna’s second ACL tear, and because his previous relatively quick return in 2022 seemed to result in nagging knee soreness and his comparatively lackluster numbers.
More will be known about Acuna’s recovery timeline in the coming weeks and months, but the bottom line is that the news is devastating on all fronts for Acuna, the Braves, and for MLB itself in losing a signature star. Acuna still doesn’t turn 27 until December, and yet while he has plenty of time to continue building on what seems like a Cooperstown-worthy career, it is anyone’s guess if he’ll be able to again recapture his old form after ACL surgeries on both knees.
The Braves overcame Acuna’s previous ACL injury to launch an unlikely run to the 2021 World Series crown. Atlanta chose to double down on its attempt to stay in the playoff race by adding four outfielders (Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, Joc Pederson, and Adam Duvall) prior to the trade deadline, and the entire quartet stepped up to help carry the team in the remainder of the regular season and during the postseason. Soler even won World Series MVP honors and Rosario was the NLCS MVP, cementing Alex Anthopoulos’ bold decision to reload rather than not give up on the season in the wake of losing Acuna.
With this in mind, it is impossible to say that Acuna’s latest injury will doom Atlanta’s chances in 2024, even if president of baseball operations Anthopoulos now faces another tricky path to building a championship team. Though the Braves are six games behind the Phillies for the NL East lead, Atlanta’s 30-20 record gives them a comfortable five-game edge for the top NL wild card berth, and it certainly looks like a return to the postseason in the cards. This is despite middling seasons from most of the Braves’ lineup (save Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud), Sean Murphy missing almost the entire season with an oblique strain, and staff ace Spencer Strider undergoing a season-ending surgery of his own with an internal brace procedure.
Since the Braves still went for it in 2021 despite a sub-.500 record at the start of August, they will obviously still be all-in on a title now given their team-record payroll and one of baseball’s most enviable collections of long-term talent. Jarred Kelenic and Adam Duvall have been splitting time in left field so either could shift over to right field for the time being, or Atlanta might just stick with the left field platoon and look to find another full-time replacement on the trade market. Making an early strike in a trade could be costly for Anthopoulos, yet he might look to replicate 2021 by adding multiple outfielders in somewhat lower-tier deals.
If the Braves really wanted to get the band back together, Rosario (now with the Nationals) figures to be available as a deadline rental and Pederson might be the same if the Diamondbacks can’t get back into contention. In terms of internal help, Atlanta’s tendency to rarely rest its starters means that Acuna, Kelenic, Duvall, Michael Harris II, and (with one inning in right field) Forrest Wall are the only players who have gotten any work in the Braves outfield all season. Wall, J.P. Martinez, and Luke Williams are all at Triple-A and on the 40-man roster, plus Eli White and Skye Bolt are among a few other Triple-A outfield options with Major League experience. Newly-acquired utilityman Zack Short has also gotten some time in the corner outfield during his career and figures to be part of this mix as well.
While there will be no shortage of trade speculation surrounding the Braves heading into the July 30 deadline, the obvious fact is that there is no way to truly replace Acuna, his 2024 struggles notwithstanding. Losing Acuna for the season puts even more pressure on Atlanta’s other bats to get on track, and on the club’s pitching staff to continue its solid work. The Braves’ attempt at a seventh consecutive division title is already in jeopardy thanks to the Phillies’ hot start, and without Acuna, it will be much more difficult for the Braves to navigate their way back to the World Series.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Oof
A lot more than “oof.” More like ‘ouch.’
a really big “ouch”
This is bad for the game. He is an incredibly gifted and entertaining player.
I hate when people say “this is bad for the game” they aren’t going to lose a single fan when a star player goes down
Card – If you can’t acknowledge he brings enjoyment to MLB fans and attracts casual fans, then you have no clue what makes the game so popular.
@ fever pitch guy
I agree with your point, as a kid I remember watching Griffey on fox Saturday baseball and wanting to watch mariners games and I’m not even a fan. That was the mid 90’s where what you watched was controlled by local/regional media, but now where it’s so easy to watch any game but your own (an argument for another time) you can’t tell me that the game is better without there stars.
that’s the most casual take I’ve ever seen.
The Braves lost their best pitcher and hitter for the season the nl mvp to be precise. That’s a huge hit even for a team like the Braves. I’d take the Phillies in the division now
Atlanta reunion with Eddie Rosario within the week.
As a Dodger fan I feel bad, sorta wish this would happen to each and every Astro, forever
Shadow
I am a Cubs and Dodgers fans. The asterisks were cheaters and that justifies regular reminding. But I sure don’t wish injuries on any player that last more than one game, especially not when only a few players remain from the cheating years, it is mostly new players.
You can’t be born a cubs and dodgers fan unless you’re 3 yrs old. Pick one. You can be a Cubs and…pick any American League team fan. Or Dodgers and pick any American League team fan but two NL teams is a violation. Not as severe as two teams in the same division but bad for a real baseball fan.
don’t be upset that dodgers hitters couldn’t produce against our pitching staff in the 2017 world series. also, where’s the vitriol toward the red sox?
my buddy called this in early spring- an injury to Acuna and the Braves falling to pieces. He Knows I am a Braves fan and wanted to jinx me.. so JINX, he called it !!
WSox will be happy to trade you Pham to rent this year. Low cost move
Honestly, I could see this. Pham was signed in the hopes of trading him, so it could make sense for both sides if Getz doesn’t overvalue him.
Effin A man. That’s horrible. Speedy recovery sir.
Acuna matada…..no
I feel sick for him and as a Braves fan. Huge blow to one of MLB’s brightest young stars.
That’s a brutal loss. Get well fast man. Wow
Absolutely horrible he’s such a fun player to watch and now he’s blown out both knees in a few years time just brutal.
I wonder if his knees are going to haunt him for his career, these knees could prevent him from going to the HOF
Might be the rest of his life unfortunately. Major injuries like these on both knees cant age well, I’m only a year older than him and recovering from one ACL
He might become the Klay Thompson of MLB
Or Lonzo Ball.
Chipper Jones made it work.
Where are all of those crying that the Braves are screwing Acuna for not reworking his contract to pay him his market value? Two years lost due to injury explains why..
They won one World Series without him. They’ll be fine. Acuna is proving to be pretty injury prone. Have to wonder how a player will respond after tearing both ACLs.
Ryan- They’ve lost their best P and their best position player to the worst possible injuries they can each get. Any other nuggets?
Not their best pitcher. Not even one of their best pitchers. Fried and Sale are both far superior to Strider.
Nah, I beg to differ. He was your #1.
Absolutely not. He gave up jacks and was out of the game in the 5th because of a high pitch count. He threw hard which, I guess is super cool but his starts always blew up the bullpen.
Maybe not currently numbers wise, but strider is their most talented young pitcher.
Strider is the guy non braves fans will know and for good reason. He may not have the best numbers if the staff right now but he’s the most talented
Smacks someone should smack you for that mute deserving comment. Sale far superior to the big S ??? My God son get the scmegma our your eyes.
Acuna was a 0.2 bWAR player and looked lost. Not to say he wouldn’t have figured it out, but c’mon. They’re getting Riley/Murphy back presumably this week and maybe Harris can step into the role. They won a WS without him. Stinks for him, but next man up. Ready to take out the Phillies, with Acuna/Strider or not.
It’s still the best lineup in baseball. They still have 3++ defenders in the outfield.
Boy, talk about a “what have you done for me lately” attitude. The guy is coming off an MVP season, one of the best years of this century, and you are saying he sucks because of the first month and a half of 2024. I don’t want to say you’re wrong just because I feel like you have probably heard that a lot in your life. I’ll just say, bless your heart.
@hiflew: You should probably point your accurate comment at TradeAcuna. His hatred and disdain for Acuna is mind numbing. RyanD’s comment is affectionate in comparison to the “Acuna sucks” rants of TradeAcuna..
Actually my comment was directed at RunDMC. Maybe I was a bit harsh, but his comment just struck me as wrong at the time. I don’t have anything for TradeAcuna, so I probably already muted him long ago. I don’t feel like I have missed anything.
You haven’t missed anything by muting TradeAcuna. I generally don’t mute folks here (one exception). Prefer to just ignore those that are “unbearable.” .Sometimes they’re good for a laugh. Give DMC a pass. Imo, he’s one of the best commenters on the site.
Yeah that is the bad part of muting certain individuals. Sometimes it makes you think the generally good commenters are worse than they are. Since there are no idiots to compare them to.
Yep. None of us bat 1.000.
@hiflew – I spoke in facts. He’s a 0.2 bWAR player right now. I never said he sucks. I referenced his value b/c he’s more replaceable now than he was in ’21, which they did. Get past the emotion of the situation and look in context for the team to win the ultimate goal. Acuna will be fine. He’ll probably come back better, not unlike 2023 – his first healthy season post injury.
Get personal if that lessens the sting.
Or,… boy, talk about a “look what he did last year” attitude. Anyone figure out yet that going for personal glory during a little league SB year, and on a team already walking away with the East, has a decent chance of being the proximate cause of this injury?
————-
“… he faked a possible steal attempt with a move towards third base. However, Acuna’s left leg twisted under him and he fell to the ground in obvious pain.”
————
He faked a possible steal attempt. Why?
This year his stolen bases chipped in exactly no Rbaser runs. In 2023, when the Braves were winning 104 games, Acuna’sline in the postseason was .143/.294/.214.
Could fatigue have played a role? Maybe. He didn’t play 159 games because the Braves needed him to. Are my points conclusive? Of course not. But it would be foolish to ignore the effects of playing flat out, unnecessarily, all year long.
Then, after his—do we call it brilliant, or excessive 2023—to collapse so completely then fall to injury, should surprise exactly no one.
I think he was trying to catch the SP sleeping with a throw back to the pitcher, but when the pitcher (Perez?) turned towards him, he tried to go back and his momentum was already taking him the other direction. Almost like his head is literally steps ahead of his body. Considering he just hit a double and was on 2B with 1 out — don’t know why you have to be so aggressive at that moment. C’est la vie.
Acuna doesn’t play “flat out, unnecessarily, all year long.” He consistently jogs out infield ground balls because the Braves don’t want him to risk injury. Not unreasonable to steal third w/one out to put himself in better scoring position. Infield grounder or sac fly gets them a run w/a man on 3B 1 out. No brainer. You probably should have added that he played Venezuelan Winter Ball to your narrative. You also didn’t mention that Acuna missed a significant portion of ST w/ knee soreness. None of that proves anything anyway. Injured on an unfortunate, awkward, twist of his knee in the dirt. Could happen to anyone.
@NashvilleJeff And yet, it doesn’t.
It happened to the guy who stole 73 bases wholly unnecessarily, given it won exactly ZERO games for Atlanta that could have conceivably made the slightest bit of difference to their chances in 2023.
Say, where do you think that ST knee soreness came from?
Great athlete, ten cent head. It was unlikely to be the Braves FO who exhorted Acuna to go for 40-70,
Or 40-60.
Or 40-20, for that matter.
That St knee soreness was his previously injured right knee. Missed “portion of ST because of inflammation in his right knee.” So none of his SB last year led to runs being scored that led to wins? Players on every team shouldn’t do anything to help their teams chances of winning games because they probably won’t win the WS anyway. That it?
My comment here is out in space because you deleted your comment I replied to Jack.
I’d love to know where you got the info that his 73 SB led to 0 wins. That’s a pro Jump to Conclusion.
104 wins and their leadoff hitter does something no one has ever. That’s gotta be worth a flag flying somewhere, right?
I dunno, Atlanta looks less than stellar lately. Still expect them to make the playoffs, but maybe a step-back season wouldn’t be awful.
Look at their end of season 2021 roster. It wasn’t all that special. They won the World Series.
Rotation in 2021 was:
Fried, Morton, Ian Anderson, Smyly, Toukisant
Their outfield was Soler, Duvall, Pederson
You Braves fans are an optimistic bunch.
Oh, it’s the Braves. They’ll still sleepwalk to at least a WC spot. I just think it’s a good excuse to retool. the System is as weak as it’s been in years and now two of your best players are out.
@RyanD44: That doesn’t mean it will happen again. No cause and effect.
But also means it’s not the apocalypse either… a lot of this team was there when they won it before, and that experience and adversity could help them again. I’m not a Braves fan, but I enjoy seeing teams overcome adversity.
Fried is/was Fried.
Ian Anderson was awesome and racked up some postseason wins.
Uncle Charlie is solid.
@DarkSide I think they have a great shot to make the playoffs, but all of the sudden they are very human, and another injury or two away from a big problem.
AA is as good of a GM as there is in the game. He’ll make some solid deadline additions.. Acuna didn’t seem checked in this year anyway.
Bryan Reynolds to Atlanta at deadline
Not happening. He signed for 8 years with the Pirates.
No one wants 8 years of Reynolds at his current going rate. The Barves learned their lesson from trading with Pittsburg – all the dudes they trade for end up sucking ass like Nate McClouth and the relief pitcher Ramirez dude.
@Smacky: I think he may have a NTC anyway. But maybe the Mets can let them have Starling Marte as a pending free agent.
Marte is not a pending free agent, and he’s expensive.
A step-back season = DEEP payroll cuts for 2025 due to lost playoff revenue, meaning Ozuna, d’Arnaud, Fried, Minter, Bummer will likely be gone.to try to get payroll back down to reasonable levels under the tax (they are far beyond what they can afford right now being in the 2nd apron).
Your crystal ball is a broken foggy thing.
The Braves have plenty of money.
“They won one World Series without him”
I mean they did have this little known guy named Freddie Freeman at the time.
Prayers up from Phillies nation. Never want to see this. Get well soon Acuna
Thank you sir, I knew there had to be some classy Philly faithful out there. In a rivalry like ours, you always want to see both sides at full strength. I hate when any franchise player goes down, especially in the NL East.
When Altuve got hurt last season I celebrated and then the m’s miss the playoffs by 1 game
Philly will challenge the single season wins record there’s no way Atlanta can hang with them now
@sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Let me know when the Phillies start playing teams over .500 Furthermore, Colorado just beat them in a series, and the Dodgers were swept by the Reds. There are still 100 plus games left.
How is it the Phillies fault that the reigning WS champs shat the bed this year? They did lose to the Rockies, but they swept the Rangers. A lot of teams in the NL are struggling to be over .500.
ButCanhepitch
Really, “they dirtied the bed”. Remind me, didn’t the Braves pummel the Phillies at home, and since then you’ve played ZERO teams over .500 and hardly played any AL teams. July can’t come fast enough, then we’ll see who is ‘dirtying the bed’.
ButCanHePitch
I am sure Texas will pick it up in due course, there is a long way to go, but we will see, I’d hardly call them ‘dirtying the bed’ at this stage of the season, but that’s your call.
I prefer poop the futon; and since the Phillies don’t choose their opponents and set their schedule, your point is pointless.
@Bart
Show me where I said that “the Phillies choose their opponents and set their schedule”. It isn’t pointless when people are going on as if they’ve won the division already with more than 100 games left.
@Fred,
It appears you’re the one pooping your futon, and please stop with the ‘Show me me…” silliness. Your little tantrum is pointless and pathetic.
@Bart
I’d say you’re doing the ‘pooping’ with your verbal diarrhea, and here you are talking about being ‘pathetic’ when you accused me of asserting the ‘Phillies set the schedule’, go take your medication to stop your leaking.
@Fred,
Apologies for stating your posts are pointless. Scatology is most obviously the basis and point of your comments.
@Bart
I agree, your points are pointless and asinine, hence “the Phillies don’t choose their opponents and set their schedule”. It would be helpful if you muted yourself.
Bless your heart, Fred.
@slowcurve,
Responding to 13Morg13’s condolences with a backhanded compliment is a bit edgy; but hey, whatever works for you.
Trade for Eddie Rosario & Joc Peterson and all is well.
And Jorge soler and dansby Swanson
Forgot about Soler, they got Ozuna now & today I’d rather have Arcia instead of Dansby.
Already have Duvall.
Duvall should get more playing time kelenic is worthless
They both are going to play everyday now. Think he went 3-3 today as a sub. Had a double & scored a few runs. It’s not going to surprise me if their offense doesn’t turn into a destructive machine like it was last year. They now know that Ronald isn’t around to save them.
Curious logic
Kelenic is a 4/5th OF. That’s it.
Last time this happened they won the World Series just sayin.
@James Midway
They should trade him, given that they can’t win with him.
The Braves are still in great shape long term. Probably should trade away Sale and Fried and add to what isn’t a very impressive farm system.
Idiotic take, as usual.
You think the Braves are gonna win it all? I doubt it…..
They did in ’21 without him so why not again? This makes the Kelenic trade that much bigger now. They still have three good quality OF’s. I hate it but I think losing him isn’t the biggest loss they could have.
Let’s see what happens the next couple months.
I don’t necessarily think they’re going to win it all, but I do feel they’ll make the playoffs. And once you’re in, anything can happen. So they may as well continue to go for it while they can.
Blackpink
Really going out on a limb there, like saying “I doubt that dice is going to roll a 1” then thinking your Nostradamus when it’s a 1.
Of course the Braves are more likely to lose than win. EVERY team is
Kelenic has a career 86 OPS+ and 9 RBIs in 117 AB this year. He’s not the answer.
The Braves lost 2 of the best players in the entire game one of which was last years MVP. It’s probably a good year to reload the farm system. But like I said let’s see what happens the next couple months. Philly is the best team in baseball at the moment another reason it might not be the Braves year.
Fire Dave Roberts
This could be one of those cases where he was smart to sign that contract. HOF trajectory may be hitting a road block.
As a Braves fan for 40 years or so, I hope not, but stranger things have happened.
I wonder if acuna’s 2025 season will look like his 2022 where he is obviously not the same
Braves will have to wait until 2026 for true Ronald to be back
@bigalcathey Don’t think so. From 2022 on the Braves are paying at most $93 million and fr 2022-2024 Acuna’s been worth 10.8 bWAR.
So, pretty much already paid off, and the Braves effectively get 2025-2027 for free.
By the way, brave of you to come out,
Bi-gal Cathey! Well done.
Damn, this sucks.
This season was lost the moment Strider got hurt. The team is not good at all and needs to be retooled. I love Sale but he will be tradebait now. Fried needs to go ASAP as well, so get rid of him.
Looks like Acuna’s career is over.
Insane comment
Do you ever stop to think that maybe some of your inside thoughts should remain inside thoughts?
acuna has come back from this before, and he will again. It will be a long road, but I really hope all the best for him with his recovery.
I hope he comes back from this as well, but this guy is a walking human made of glass. He will forever be pampered by the Braves until he retires early due to injuries.
Maybe a team will take a shot at him. Hopefully, the Braves trade him and rebuild the farm system. The current team is not good.
Everyone can play happy hippy but both knees already gone. Too much extra showy movements in his game. He wants to be lebron but he will never be king of mlb.
Wow. I’m a mets fan and I’m embarrased for you
As a Braves fan we understand your overly positive attitude. Being a Mets fan means you KNOW you overpaid and will get underperformance. As a Braves fan we though we had good value out of Acuna.
You do have it. You literally sound like spoiled brats. It’s ridiculous you are saying that. I live in Atlanta and all my friends are basically braves fan…they don’t think like this at all. It’s only a minority of you. Fake fans trashing him all year and now worse.
The Braves are on pace to win as many games as last year. It just feels worse because the Phillies are at a crazier pace at the moment. Plenty of time left for the teams to swap places, but these injuries suck.
It’s amazing what being in 2nd place does to braves fans. I know it’s unfamiliar but thats not acunas fault
@Sourhaze: I’m a lifelong Braves fan—–67 years old…..who grew up in Atlanta. Not all of us expect to win every year. Until I was in my mid 30’s the Braves were (w/the exception of 69 and 82) the sad sacks of the NL. Have to admit we’ve been spoiled since 91.
@VPH,
We can always count on you to provide emotional support counseling for Braves fans. I guess we all need a hobby.
It’s just ridiculous to see the Braves fans getting ready to jump off a bridge when their team is on pace for 100+ again. Now don’t get me wrong, these are huge injuries.
Who?
This was in response to TradeAcuna’s rant about the skyfalling.
Saying Acuna’s career is over is such nonsense. Maybe he becomes a full-time DH by the time he’s 30 just to protect him, but no way he’s done. Don’t be so dramatic…
I can picture you outside holding a sign that says The End is Near.
That was an impressive number of overreactions fit into such a small amount of text LOL.
We need F’s in the chat right now to send our condolences
When I watched that video that did not look like a 10 day IL thing that was more than that
I hate seeing anyone get hurt playing this game. Let alone one of the best. Speedy recovery to Mr. Acuña.
Tough loss. Dude is a good crowd draw for the game too. Come back strong next year, young man.
Awful news. Hoping for a successful surgery and recovery for Acuna. Such a great player
One of the most fragile “stars” around. I love the Braves but anyone who says they overpaid is wrong. He’s a show boater that doesn’t stay on the field just like Tatis. Enjoy another year off being overpaid. 3 years of his pay for 1 year of service is close to what Juan Soto is worth or a real star. Same goes for Albies. Love those guys when they are on the field but Acuna/Albies are hurt a lot.
You’re embarrasing.
Albies earns $7M this year and a total of $21M for the next THREE years. That’s fourth outfielder or mid-inning RP money these days.
“Mr. Fragile” award goes to Jacob deGrom. Maybe “Mr. Overpaid” as well. Acuna can come in a far second on fragility.
But on the other hand, when those two are on their game, no two more exciting to watch.
Braves will be fine. Next man up.
He’s so much fun to watch. I mean 70/40. Made me won my fantasy last year. In real life is awful to see a HOF caliber player go down to these kind of injuries. Kid’s strong though.
Tough loss for MLB. Plays with passion.
F#ck
He hurt each of his knees on the basepaths this year trying to make quick changes in direction. Hopefully he comes back stronger, but the quick stops on the bases need to go.
Strider and Acuna Jr. Brutal, but Braves are still having a monster year. Still, brutal. This stinks.
That blows
Owie
Acuna Moncada both out. Coincidence?
No one cares about Moncada nor the White Sox, jagoff.
You must be fun, never mind. Noone invites you to parties
Guess his little brother is going to win the bet!
That escalated quickly. They were saying a month, maybe more because it was a sprain.
You have to wonder if he is heading for DH sooner rather than later. The Braves have a strong team and enough young players to deal to pick up a big bat.
Unlike 2021 – AA’s got his hands full trying to replace Acuna’s production, as.Atlanta’s farm is near the worst in the game, and their options in AAA are basically minors depth at best (JP Martinez, Forest Wall, Luke Williams) – they lack any decent prospects in AAA as Alex traded most of their depth in recent years in win-now moves.
And making trades right now isn’t happening as prices are too high and Atlanta has few assets to offer, and Braves ownership is unlikely to greenlight any more spending with the team in the 2nd apron of luxury taxes – far beyond what their market can afford.
The people that own F1 and SiriusXM own the Braves
They picked up Aaron Bummer tho
Brutal. Sorry for ATL fans.
Hate to see this.
i know that this isn’t what this comment section is used for but how about we apply some logic and patience and see how the team responds in the next month or so before we talk about a giving up on the season. have some faith braves fans
Your comment makes a lot more sense than the doomsayers on here 309. It’s definitely a better read than takes like those of TradeAcuna. He’s delighted this happened to Acuna. He acts like his garbage take that “Acuna sucks” (earlier article today) is somehow vindicated by Acuna’s misfortune.
@Bravesfan309 Exactly. Still a good team, still 3 wild card slots, better than average offense, better than average pitching, solid defense.
It’s not like Acuna Jr was the glue holding the team together. He was a competent regular so far in 2024, and RF is not the hardest position to replace.
The antiquity of the pitching staff is an issue, as is a weak farm to deal from. Still, AA is a master of the craft and will pull off whatever can be pulled off. (No obscenity intended.)
AAA isn’t entirely bereft, and Hurtson Waldrep’s a possibility… Not to mention guys like Rich Hill were readily available in prior seasons for a team’s #24 prospects.
They’re probably still very good bets to make the postseason, though they may not have the pitching to make a run unless, say, Morton and Sale are willing to sit for 2 months….
Ran him into the ground last year ? His numbers were slow this year, maybe he was hurt already or extra sore ?
I doubt his workload had anything to do with the knee injury. ACL tears are random. I do wonder if his insistence on playing winter ball after playing every game + postseason isn’t leading to general fatigue/burnout, though. Note that once he rested and fully recovered from the first injury, he was MVP.
Braves farm system is rather thin. Fortunately it wouldn’t take much to trade for a guy like Tommy Pham from the White Sox…
The Braves won’t trade for Pham. He’s a walking fistfight. One of MLB’s most miserable personalities. AA and Snit wouldn’t want him in the Braves cohesive clubhouse.
The thing with Pederson was ridiculous, but it’s an outlier. Teams have continued to trade for Pham, including Arizona, who went to the WS with Pham on the roster. We aren’t in the clubhouse, so we don’t know anything about how he gets along with teammates, a lot of whom have good things to say about him. I’m not really a fan of Pham either, but he’s a solid ballplayer and can help a team. Remember: The Braves continue to employ and utilize a very productive Marcell Ozuna, so don’t chime in with Snitker and the Braves don’t tolerate “bad boys” of baseball. Ozuna has a much worse history than Tommy Pham…
Referred to personality and interaction w/teammates, not an off field issue. The Braves GM asked players about a prospective trade addition last season. When the player was discussed, the Braves players made it clear that they didn’t want him on the team. Snit recently said in no uncertain terms that they wouldn’t be adding Trevor Bauer. Ozuna’s teammates all have good things to say about him as well. Pham was once involved in a stabbing incident in a strip joint, so I wouldn’t claim his “sins” are less than than those of Ozuna. The other side of “teams have continued to trade for Pham” is that teams were willing to deal him away in short order. Btw, I’ll “chime in” w/an opinion on this open forum any time I want—-just like you just did.
Jeff, you can keep on listening to yourself, social media speculation, talk radio and other assumptions from people, who despite what they and you believe, don’t have any actual knowledge from which you speak. Or you can read about Pham directly from his former teammates, coaches and managers. There’s a terrific write-up from The Athletic from just last year, where they actually interviewed players and coaches, rather than just having some talking-head pundit spewing contrived opinions based on nothing but opinions from people who aren’t involved with anything.
nytimes.com/athletic/4840461/2023/09/07/diamondbac…
Me? I’ll go with the folks that actually have had to be on the same team with the guy since they have actual knowledge as opposed to made up, judgemental speculation from people from afar that have no direct connection to anything that goes on in a clubhouse.
I’ll never understand fans that talk about clubhouse morale when none of us know anything about what’s going on in there. Re-chirping other fans and talking heads is not knowledge, but yet people talk about “clubhouse cancers” are a matter of fact. We – including you – have no idea of who’s good in the clubhouse and who isn’t…
@Positively_broad_st
Chris Sale has already said Ozuna is the leader in the clubhouse, and Michael Harris also credited Ozuna with helping him out of a long slump that he was in. I’ll take their word over yours, and they’re just two examples. Furthermore, I have no idea how you compared Ozuna to Pham in regard to clubhouse morale. Pham has a list of things where he has been accused of poor team behaviour. Using the NY Times as some sort of reference point is laughable.
Last but not least, baseball teams become good teams because they’re capable of dealing with severe adversity.
Fred, I never said a word about Ozuna in the clubhouse. I only mentioned both Ozuna and Pham having a couple of incidents of bad behavior. Your taking that and conflating it with the other guy’s statement about the clubhouse affect. Either that or just doing some odd gaslighting attempt on behalf of your fellow Braves fan. We get it – Acuna’s injury is terrible news, but calm down with the over-sensitivity here. It achieves nothing.
@Positively broad st
How is Pham’s behaviour related to Ozuna’s? They are two different things and two completely different situations. Do tell about those in life that never had an argument with a girlfriend or wife, there are plenty. Ozuna’s argument got heated, we know that, but many have tried to exaggerate that situation and failed.
I am not over sensitive, read the last sentence of the previous post and attempt to comprehend what I said.
” we don’t know anything about how he gets along with teammates,”
Except, as with the Mets, he rats them out after he leaves, misinterprets the regimens of old players, calls them ‘lazy,’….
Tommy’s a genuine dolt. Let’s be honest.
Ironic. The Braves have Ozuna. Pham would be fine in Atlanta.
You better don’t. The OF for the moment will be set with with what they have. No need to rush for now.
A huge loss for the Braves but a team is not one guy, superstar or not. The Braves still have a wealth of talent. This Dodger fan wishes them well.
Same thing this Braves fan says to his Dodger fan friends when the Dodgers face injuries to their pitching staff.
Terrible injury, but the Braves have made it to a 30-20 record and +47 run diff with Acuna performing pretty much at replacement level this year. I think the team will be fine, especially if Murphy and Riley produce after they get back into the lineup.
One thing’s for sure. The derring-do on the bases should be finished for Acuna when he returns next year. Forget about 70 steals. Just run the bases conservatively and avoid those quick starts and stops as much as possible.
Acuna will have Byron buxton treatment after this, at least he will post exorbitant SB to CS numbers
Ronald will have 2022 seasons from now on and never 2023 again
@CaseyAbell Agreed, though the Braves should have put a stop to the derring-do at the beginning of last year.
Setting a record for HR-steals during MLB’s little league bases year, when you’re coming off half a year lost to an ACL injury is senseless.
Could the Braves not stop him? I have to think that’s it, since they know full well that the value of a SB is very small, and they also understood they were projected to win the East by a dozen furlongs—and if necessary could have let him loose if projections weren’t being met.
It’s hardly impossible to persuade a player by suggesting that with more conventional play he rates to get to the HOF, but that he’ll have to stay healthy.
Was at the game staring right at Martin Perez with Acuna directly behind him. It was surreal. Almost like he got shot because I couldn’t believe he was trying to steal 3rd on the throw back to Perez from Bart.
Feel awful for Acuna, Braves, and all us fans of great players.
Exciting player. Hopefully he makes it back fully healthy in 2025 and he has many productive years ahead, but it’s beginning to look like 2023 will be the outlier in his career.
Well that SUCKS.
AA will have some tough decisions in July. Go all in on playoffs, or accept the terrible luck they had this year with Acuña and Strider….. and trade upcoming free agents Max Fried and Charlie Morton (and others)
Forest Wall is likely the corresponding move. 28 years old in AAA so not really a prospect, but is hitting well there and hit well in a brief cup of coffee last year. Kelenic and Duvall have more pressure on them to get their ops to league average or above now. Kelenic had a great game today and maybe he lives up to his prospect status.
Probably right about Wall, Soul, but he’d make the Braves outfield lefty dominant w/Duvall the only rh hitter. Won’t be surprised to see AA make a small deal for a RH hitting of’er by the deadline.
Don’t really consider Ozuna to be an of’er anymore, but the Braves might. Sure hope not.
Wow ! Strider n Acuna, it takes a certain kinda luck to not lose key players to injury during the long season n to be healthy goin into playoffs. Not always best team that wins its healthy team that catches fire. Bad run of misfortune.
Terrible. Braves won a World Series last time without him so you can’t count them out just yet
You can always stick to Yankees articles. 99% of the Yankee fans who regularly comment on Braves articles on the site are really good guys—-knowledgeable and affable. Not very often that the exception to that meanders by, but hey……here you are.
Luis Robert -Eric Fedde..
Robert spends his fair share of time on the IL himself. Pass. Agree that Fedde might be of interest. He learned a lot in the KBO. Changing his pitch mix has done him a lot of good.
Do the Braves have the prospect capital to get Robert jr.? Fedde would be a great rental upgrade for the fifth starter spot, I think.
Probably have to give up too many of their top pitching prospects to get Robert. They have very few position player prospects w/decent trade value, but are much stronger on the pitching side. Very much doubt AA would be willing to deal off his top pitching prospects though. Fried and Morton will be FA after 2024. Who knows how Strider will look after his TJS rehab. AJSS, Waldrup, Schwellenbach are the best (and closest to MLB ready.) Some strong prospect pitching in both A ball levels too. Owen Murphy, Jhoncarlos Lara, Lucas Braun, JR Ritchie, and others. Quite a few Quad A arms in AAA and AA that might be of interest to extremely pitching poor teams.
I sound insane but that would actually make some sense, it would be a win now and win later deal
Robert is at his low price right now so Hurston and AJSS and a lottery ticket would do it
Imagine a 2025 outfield of Robert and Ronald and Harris
@sad: If any of the “prophets” on here are right about Acuna’s future, he’ll be a DH going forward. No more outfield. You could be right about your trade proposal return on Robert, but I suspect that AA is going to be extremely reluctant to deal both of those arms. Again, not sure Robert’s health issues make him as attractive a trade piece to Atlanta as he might seem.
No it wouldn’t. He’s controlled through 2027, the White Sox have no need to deal him now, for that return.
@Souldrummer25 The Braves desperately need a good starter, both for the regular season and for the post. Oldest staff n the game, a reliever starting, the frail sale, 40 yo Morton…
Use your capital for a pitcher you want making postseason starts.
No Strider, no Acuña….. no NL east title,no trophy
@CP77 The Braves have 112 games left.
Maybe AA can fleece the Jays before Atkins gets turfed. The Jays season is done.
Maybe AA can haunt the jays and scam them for daulton, that would be a good addition
Rather have a comparable righty (who???), but the money works on Varsho. Guess the Astros would get a bigger price than the Braves could pay for Kyle Tucker. Love to have him, lefty or not. Wonder if the Astros deal him by the deadline. Lots of chatter that he’ll be testing free agency instead of signing an extension. Maybe half a season of him wouldn’t cost as much as I think——yeah, right lol.
Funny that when both teams have been a good fit for trades they haven’t made one.
I hate to see any player go down to injury. The Braves are still a formidable team. The Phillies will not play .700+ ball on the season and Murphy is near his return. We need to calm down about the fall of the Braves.
karma
I hate to hear this.
At least he won’t get picked off anymore this year.
“This is the major knee surgery of Acuna’s career” yes..yes it is.
Well that’s just awful.
Terrible for Ronald
Terrible for Acuna, the Braves, and MLB.
First Strider now Acuna. This is a big deal for Atlanta. Yes, the Braves won without Acuna. But losing your top starter (or your number 2 which would be a number 1 on many teams), is a big setback for 2024.
The acquisition at the deadline might need to be whoever can hit Wheeler, Nola and Suarez. Philly’s had your number and you need to figure out how to beat them without Strider and Acuna.
Free Agents that could fill in. Jackie Bradley Jr, Adam Engel and local guy Kyle Lewis. All won’t provide much offense but solid be really solid defensively.
There is a perfect Acuna replacement. Leadoff hitter. 30/30 guy. Local GA. Under 30. Available for a decent price. But the price will be Iglesias.
His name? Cedric Mullins.
The Braves would deal Iglesias immediately for Mullins. Can’t see the O’s taking such a poor return for him though. They’d want a lot more than Iggy.
JBJ? So, ensure your replacement is sub-replacement. Dear lord.
Serious bummer. Hate it when anyone gets a serious injury, but especially when it happens to the stars of the sport. As a Nats fan I was looking forward to seeing him play us in the two series we have coming up soon. Hope he can recover fully and resume being a top player.
The Pirates’ infield dirt has more of an impact on the playoff race than they do.
That tracks.
This is rough. The dude is so dynamic and is so because he constantly puts his body at risk to make outrageously awesome plays, especially on the base path. Yesterday, he had no business doing what he did. He was about to attempt to steal 3rd and hit the breaks hard to turn back to 2nd. Speed/quickness that fast isn’t suppose to halt in such a fashion and that knee gave out. I don’t blame him for doing it, it’s that type of aggressiveness that makes him an mvp caliber player… but make this stinks for him. Too good to be missing full season like this
If he was too good to be missing a full season like this, he wouldn’t be missing full seasons like this.
With his trace record, this really was stupid.
Unfortunate.
But really stupid.
When Ronny Mauricio did it, it was already kinda dumb.
For Acuna, I wish him nothing but the best for a full recovery and great days ahead. Great teams overcome injuries without whiny fans bemoaning bad luck. San Fran, yes, get over it – San Fran fans should learn from the injuries that have hit other teams and learn what perseverance is instead of whining about it.
Ha ha ha. A lesson from Giant fans greatest whiner. If he ain’t crying, he isn’t breathing.
The lack of self awareness is staggering. I love it !
Who’s whining?? We’ve been wayyyy better since the injuries hit. It forced management to bring up the kids, and now we’re the hottest team in baseball. My biggest fear is that since Slater and Conforto are coming back we instantly revert to our losing ways.
I’ll tell you who. True Giants Fan. Whining about how it’s all Farhans fault for recruiting porcelain players. Then we get this gem. lol. You just can’t make this stuff up.
Looking ok. Tough stretch coming up. Here we go…..
No such thing as being “hot” You would be the underdog vs every +500 team if there was a 7 game series starting today
Well we just beat the best team in baseball, and are closing in on the Dodgers. Odd stat: SF is 19-1 when scoring 5 or more runs, best in MLB.
Giants will happily send you Conforto and Slater for a bag of peaches.
@TellItGoodbye
That’s a pretty good deal.
Well, that sucks
I really hate to see that. Oh well, AA will make another set of over complicated moves to get someone to fill the gap.
If they want to repeat their 2021 approach, they could see if Charlie Blackmon has anything left in the tank. I think he has a NTC but he grew up near Atlanta so maybe he’d waive it for a shot at the WS with his hometown team.
He shouldn’t cost much in the way of prospects if the Braves are willing to pay most of his remaining salary, since the Rockies are overpaying him this season.
Awful for baseball. And this from a Mets fan
He’s turning into ken griffey
The most amazing talent in mlb
Both are “jr”
Cant stay healthy
Heal up !
His career reminds me of Eric Davis when he was with the Reds (back in the 80’s). He had power, speed, hit for average, great outfielder…he was the total package, but seemed to always be hurt.
Other teams could be out of it at Deadline that might have an OF to spare.
What a sad headline to open up my day! I hope he recovers well. I will miss watching him play!
Injuries happen but maybe Atlanta needs to re-evaluate its “tendency to rarely rest its starters”. A 162 game season is absurdly long and there are plenty of playoff slots to go to the upper echelon teams.
That really sucks for baseball as a whole and the braves in particular and not to mention Acuna himself. This is where being mentally tough will come into play for Acuna and how he attacks his rehab. The fact that he has already been down this road before with a previous ACL tear / surgery leads me to believe that he will be ready to go by opening day 2025.
I hope everything goes well and he gets back on the field sooner than later and this is coming from a Baseball fan.
Agreed
The game is better when the best players are on the field. Trout, Turner, Acuna, Strider, Cole.
It’s too bad.
Doesn’t matter if you’re an average Joe or a multimillionaire professional baseball player at the top of your sport, having two blown out ACLs before you even sniff age 30 is a horrible experience.
The braves can call the cubs see About morel. Or belly will cost the braves alot tho just saying
This sucks….
#1 I’m as Phillies fan for 50 years
#2 I’m a baseball fan
Get well
pretty awesome that you have above a league average year (+/-) and it be underwhelming. he was certainly a legitimate contender for the 40/40 before the rule changes. likely be near the top of the list for a few more years before this..
Here is to a speedy and full recovery.