The Braves announced that outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring. First baseman Rowdy Tellez has been selected to take his place on the active roster. Right-hander Jhancarlos Lara has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Tellez.
It’s already the second time this year that Acuña’s left hamstring has sent him to the IL. He spent a little over two weeks there from early- to mid-May. He has been back for a few weeks but the injury has flared up again and sent him to the IL once more.
Around the injuries, Acuña has been performing well but not up to his own standards, currently sporting a .251/.373/.421 line. That translates to a 125 wRC+, indicating Acuña has been 25% better than league average on the year, but he has a career wRC+ of 142 and was at 161 last year.
It doesn’t appear the injury is serious but Atlanta can afford to be cautious. They have the best record in baseball at 45-22. They have a nine-game lead over the Phillies in the National League East. Given their strong short-term position, they should be thinking about the long term and making sure Acuña is healthy for October.
They will still have Mike Yastrzemski and Michael Harris II in two spots. With Acuña on the shelf, Mauricio Dubón and Eli White will probably step in for more outfield work. If Dubón is spending more time on the grass, that could open up more shortstop playing time for Jorge Mateo or Ha-Seong Kim.
Tellez, 31, will probably just be serving as a bench bat. He has only been a first baseman throughout his career and won’t help in the outfield. Matt Olson is the club’s first baseman and hasn’t taken a day off in years. Dominic Smith is the regular in the designated hitter spot. He has a strong .292/.331/.458 line and 118 wRC+ on the year.
Dubón, White, Mateo and Kim are all right-handed hitters and Tellez is a lefty, so perhaps he will be called upon to pinch-hit for those guys in some key spots against tough righty arms. Tellez doesn’t have a strong walk rate against righties in his career but has done most of his damage with the platoon advantage, leading to a .236/.299/.452 career line against righties. He signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the offseason and has been hitting well in Triple-A this year, with a .259/.367/.483 line, including a 308/.406/.608 slash against righties.
Lara, 23, was added to Atlanta’s roster in September of last year but never got into a game. He was optioned a few days later and has been on optional assignment for all of this season as well. He has elite stuff, with his fastballs averaging in the upper-90s, but atrocious control. He has walked 17.5% of batters faced in his minor league career, which is about double a normal rate. That includes an ugly 33.3% walk rate in 15 Double-A appearances this year, helping him produce an 8.22 earned run average.
He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so Atlanta could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. If Lara garners any interest, it would be as a project, since the results certainly aren’t there right now. But since he has natural talents and still has options, perhaps some club with roster space will look to stash him. If he is passed through waivers unclaimed, he would stick in Atlanta’s system without using up a roster spot.
Photo courtesy of Christopher Hanewinckel, Imagn Images
Has anyone seen my Blu-ray copy of Street Fighter ?
Sorry, I had to give it to Brenden Sorsby. He asked for it and a judge said there would be irreparable harm caused if I denied him the right to watch it.
You better get that copy from Sorsby ASAP or he will try to use it as a wager for his next bet (probably Game 4 of NBA Finals).
Time for Rowdy to hit some bombs. Sucks that Acuna is hurt but the Braves are sitting comfortably at the top of the division so as long as this is somewhat minor it shouldn’t make a huge impact.
Baldwin should be back next week, so that also lessens Acuna’s absence.
The story of his life 😔
Uh oh
All that showboating. They had no other non 1B who they can call up?
Jose Azocar
Love when you guys seethe over “certain types of players” showing emotion.
Love when a guy that never played high level ball thinks showing a wide range of emotion is a good thing.
When you put pizza on bagel – you can have pizza anytime.
Even mild hamstring strains usually require a month or more away from play, so two weeks off from the last time is not “being cautious,” it’s practically begging for a recurrence.
How did the MRI look, doctor ? Nice images ?
Grade 1 is always 2 weeks.
Doctor Google over here
Watch baseball much?
Diagnose extent of injury and then decide recuperation period for hamstring injuries much ?
I think not. Maybe leave it to the specialists. I’m sure they are on top of it.
Watch much baseball?
Only two years of playing more than 120 games…yet another year of a part time player. Sit him until August.. can’t risk it with his 50ish year old legs.
Rowdy time!!
Mr. Glass strikes again. They already have the worst catching situation in baseball and now have the worst OF situation in baseball to go along with a horrible 3B. It would be a miracle if they can maintain that lead for much longer.
As a Phillies fan, I wish the Phillies had such problems.
Phillies will win that division. Guaranteed.
No they won’t but the Phillies will eliminate the Braves in the NLDS
Acuna can’t stay off the IL
Put Rowdy in Center. (Chris Berman voice) Rumblin, bumblin, stumblin….
Love Berman. A couple of his best ever were Oddibe “Young Again” McDowell and Bert “Be Home” Blyleven.
I know whoever comes up to replace an injured guy is usually a downgrade, but Acuna to Rowdy is a heck of a downgrade.
Let’s get Rowdy!!! Question: Are Rowdy Telez and Daniel Vogelbach the same person? We had them both here in Seattle. I think they might be the same person. Like Felix and Larry Bernandez.
At least we can dominate the squared circle. Dom and Rowdy as a tag team in one legged potato sack races! Bringing Rowdy up to replace an outfielder is right in line with using Cookie late in a one run game. Decisions are getting Dumb and Dumber! Why does Dylan Lee need 3 days rest? Is he injured?
I’m not an Atlanta fan. But the run you guys are having surely draws my attention. Observation: I had no idea Acuna is so young. Only 28. As I looked into the stats it seems that you are having your great season without his more that moderate contribution.
The Atlanta play has been excellent and consistent.
Why do so many commentators think they are in trouble and Philly is storming back?
SuperTalls below nails it pretty good…Career years from Elder and Harris so far, huge bouce back from Olson. Baldwin was killing it. But also the pessimistic side creeps in with Dubon, Dom, Yaz, Mateo, etc. may be playing over the heads. Sale is the only shut down pitcher and a really good pen…We’re Atlanta fans and are always waiting for the collapse lol and not just Braves related.
Phillies are more of a worry in the postseason.
Wheeler and Sanchez puts the Braves fighting uphill. We can match one of them with Sale but no matter how good Elder has been he’s the underdog. Same with Strider if he’s your #2
Not unreasonable in the NLDS to see one of them go on short rest for Game 4 which results in you facing that pair 4 times in a 5 game series.
It just doesn’t shake out too favorably for the Braves. If they play in the NLCS it’s a bit different of story with the Braves being deeper so things even out a bit.
Phillies have some big names. And got hit recently. Ironically it’s almost identical to the Braves run, but the Braves have been doing it all season.
Braves do too, but their names might not be as well known nationally. Braves also have a lot of castoffs that are killing it this year. The rotation is half on the injured list, so guys like Martin Perez stepped in at the back end of his career and is killing it again.
Venezuelan Mike Trout. What could’ve been if he could stop getting injured.
Not quite the frequency of “Carrasco being DFAed” but close.
Rowdyyyy
So, does this constant merry-go-round of injuries to RA indicate a lack of offseason conditioning, a body that is susceptible to injury, a player that just pushes his body too hard or just plain old bad luck?
Hopefully there is an answer that can help avoid these things in the future.
Fast twitch guy. Some might even say super fast.
All that extra twitching means they break easier. The price they pay.
White Sox are willing to trade our Acuna for yours, just to make sure you don’t go without.