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Ronald Acuña Jr. To Begin Rehab Assignment

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The Braves announced to reporters, including Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will start a rehab assignment in the Complex League tomorrow. He will be playing the outfield and will be monitored for a potential transfer to Triple-A Gwinnett at some point. The club also announced that right-hander Spencer Strider will throw a simulated game on Wednesday, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The plan is for Strider to throw 70 to 75 pitches before a decision is made about whether to send him on a rehab assignment or simply reinstate him from the injured list.

The news is obviously quite welcome for Atlanta fans. The injuries to the two players have been hampering the club for almost all of the past year-plus. Strider required UCL surgery in the middle of April last year. Just over a month later, Acuña suffered a torn left ACL. The club limped through the rest of the season without those two, qualifying for a Wild Card spot in the final game of the season. They were quickly swept by the Padres in the Wild Card round.

Here in 2025, things have gotten out to a rough start. Strider was reinstated from the IL last month but made just one start before a hamstring strain put him back on the shelf. Jurickson Profar, signed in the offseason to bolster the outfield in Acuña’s absence, played just four games before receiving an 80-game PED suspension. Reynaldo López made just one start before requiring arthroscopic shoulder surgery and is going to be out for several months.

Around all of those speedbumps, Atlanta has managed to somewhat tread water, currently sporting a 19-21 record. The upcoming returns of both Acuña and Strider should improve their chances of climbing in the standings going forward.

When last healthy, Acuña was on top of the world. He was the Most Valuable Player in the National League in 2023. He hit 41 home runs and stole 73 bases that season, producing a .337/.416/.596 batting line and 171 wRC+. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 9.1 wins above replacement while Baseball Reference had him at 8.4. That was all the more impressive because he had recovered from a previous ACL tear in his right knee.

His initial return from that injury, suffered in June of 2021, was more good than great. He was reinstated from the IL in April of 2022 and then hit .266/.351/.413 for a 115 wRC+ that year. But in 2023, he was firing on all cylinders and was one of the best players in the world.

It’s anyone’s guess which version of Acuña will show up this year. With his previous ACL tear, he was eventually able to get back to MVP-level performance, but with a half-decent season in between. Now that he has suffered tears in both ACLs, it’s hard to say what’s ahead, but it shouldn’t take too much longer to find out. Rehab assignments for position players can last as long as 20 days. Even if Acuña uses that entire timeline, he’ll be back by early June, unless he suffers a setback of some kind.

When he does return, the club will have to decide which player loses playing time. Eli White is currently holding down Acuña’s right field spot. He has a .284/.333/.506 line and 127 wRC+, but is getting some help from a .350 batting average on balls in play. He could drop into a fourth outfielder role but left fielder Alex Verdugo has a .241/.300/.325 line and 76 wRC+ on the year, comparable to his poor season with the Yankees in 2024, so perhaps White could slide over to left and take some time there.

As for Strider, it seems there’s a chance he could be back as soon as a week from now, if the sim game goes well. Even if he does go on a rehab assignment, it might be a brief one. Whenever he’s healthy, he should slot next to Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach and AJ Smith-Shawver in the rotation. Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes are currently in the mix but both have ERAs close to 5.00. Elder has a tepid strikeout rate but a good walk rate while Holmes has been getting more punchouts but also giving out more free passes.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Latest On Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuna Jr.

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Spencer Strider will start for the Braves in Monday’s Spring Training game with the Red Sox, in a significant step in Strider’s recovery from an internal brace procedure.  MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (multiple links) figures Strider will pitch in at least five games over the rest of spring camp and during a minor league rehab assignment before officially returning to Atlanta’s rotation during the regular season, which could signal a return date around roughly the middle of April if all goes well.

This would seemingly beat the timeline floated by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand just a few days ago, when Feinsand suggested that Strider would “likely” start a 30-day minor league rehab assignment.  Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said have their own “general idea” about when both Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr. will be back from their long-term injuries, yet the team hasn’t given any set timelines.

“The fact that they’re very active participants basically throughout the spring is a good sign.  Without having a date right now, we’re definitely on the shorter end, Strider more so than Ronald,” Anthopoulos said.

Should this rough timeline hold, it will mark just slightly over a year on the shelf for Strider, who underwent an internal brace surgery last April 12.  While Tommy John surgeries usually require 13-15 months of recovery, internal brace procedures have a slightly shorter timeline of roughly 12-13 months attached.  Because brace surgeries are still a relatively new way of addressing UCL injuries, there isn’t yet a standard timeframe for recovery, plus the obvious fact that every pitcher’s arm is a unique entity that recovers at its own pace.

Still, it’s great news for Strider and the Braves that he is on pace to return to the mound sooner rather than later.  After making his MLB debut late in the 2021 season, Strider emerged almost fully formed as a front-of-the-rotation pitcher in 2022, and delivered two years of work before he was waylaid by his UCL injury.  Strider posted a 2.67 ERA over 131 2/3 innings in 2022, then a 3.86 ERA in 186 2/3 frames in 2023.  The latter season saw the right-hander lead the NL in strikeouts (281), strikeout rate (36.8%) and wins (20), while finishing in fourth place in Cy Young Award voting.

As Anthopoulos observed, Acuna has been able to take part in baseball activities during camp, though he isn’t expected to play in any actual games before the Grapefruit League schedule is over.  Acuna should return to game action as part of a minor league rehab assignment in April, with an eye towards being activated from the injured list by the middle of May at the earliest.  Acuna will start the season on the IL, but it looks as if he’ll be placed on the 10-day rather than the 60-day, which would require him to be sidelined until the last week of May.

That would make it just under a year away for Acuna, who tore his left ACL last May 26.  Acuna also tore his left ACL in mid-July 2021 and returned to action by the end of April 2022, so it isn’t surprising that this second major knee injury necessitated a longer recovery time.  Acuna also battled some knee soreness throughout the 2022 campaign, which was reflected in a down performance (.266/.351/.413 with 15 homers over 533 plate appearances) by his high standards.

At his best, Acuna is arguably the best player in baseball, as evidenced by his incredible MVP season in 2023.  Coming back from one ACL tear to deliver such production is a positive sign that Acuna can return from this latest injury as well, though it is reasonable that Acuna will (like in 2022) take some time to fully return to form.  It is also fair to speculate whether or not Acuna can get back to that 2023 peak again, simply due to the difficulty of rebounding from ACL tears in both knees.

Braves Willing To Exceed Luxury Tax In 2025

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The Braves have been relatively quiet to this point in the winter, having done little to this point beyond trade Jorge Soler to the Angels at the start of the offseason. That’s created the impression of a club being cautious about its payroll situation this winter, when they stand at risk of surpassing the luxury tax for a third consecutive year, which would come with stiff tax penalties and cause the first-round pick in the 2026 draft to move back ten spots. Despite the club’s slow start to the winter, however, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told reporters (including David O’Brien of The Athletic) that the club is willing to surpass the luxury tax for a third consecutive year to address the club’s needs this winter.

According to O’Brien, the club’s initial plans for the offseason were scuttled when they received worrisome medical updates regarding stars Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider as well as reliever Joe Jimenez. Neither Acuna nor Strider is expected to be ready for Opening Day as things stand, and O’Brien adds that both could be out of action “well into May.” That news, in conjunction with the loss of Jimenez to knee surgery for most or all of the 2025 campaign, left the Braves to look for ways to free up salary. Per O’Brien, the club likely wouldn’t have restructured the contracts of Reynaldo Lopez and Aaron Bummer nor declined the club option of veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud had these injuries not put additional pressure on the club to pursue help in the outfield, rotation, and bullpen.

Of those three areas of the roster, the outfield appears to be the most pressing for the club to address. O’Brien notes that the Braves may prefer to be extra cautious with Acuna next season in the aftermath of his second torn ACL in four seasons, particularly after he struggled (at least relative to his own elite standards) in 2022 after returning to the lineup as soon as possible. That’s led the club to pursue outfield help thanks to the relatively lackluster in-house alternatives of Eli White, Luke Williams and Carlos D. Rodriguez as options to pair with Jarred Kelenic and Michael Harris II on the grass until Acuna returns.

On the pitching side of things, however, the Braves seemingly have more comfort with their internal options. Reigning NL Cy Young award winner Chris Sale figures to be joined by Lopez and rookie Spencer Schwellenbach in the club’s Opening Day rotation for 2025, and the club has a large number of possible internal options to handle the other two rotation spots including Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep, and Ian Anderson among others, but Anthopoulos suggested one surprising internal candidate for a rotation job as well: right-hander Grant Holmes.

The 28-year-old made his MLB debut for the Braves this past season and excelled in a swing role for the club with a 3.56 ERA and 3.20 FIP in 68 1/3 innings of work split between seven starts and 19 relief appearances. Given Holmes’s apparent comfort moving between the rotation and bullpen, he could prove to be a sensible choice to fill in for Strider in the club’s Opening Day rotation before moving into a relief role once the hard-throwing righty returns to action. Similarly, O’Brien notes that Anthopoulos expressed interest in using right-hander Daysbel Hernandez in a set-up role in 2025 to help make up for the loss of Jimenez. Hernandez pitched just 18 innings for Atlanta in 2024 across 16 appearances, but he made a strong impression in that limited time with a 2.50 ERA, a 35.1% strikeout rate, and a 2.11 FIP.

One other option to help make up for the loss of Jimenez that O’Brien notes could be on the table is a reunion with southpaw A.J. Minter. While O’Brien suggests that the club “might” re-sign Minter this winter, one potential wrinkle in bringing Minter back to help ease the loss of Jimenez is the fact that the lefty might also miss Opening Day following surgery. Minter underwent season-ending hip surgery back in August, and O’Brien notes that it’s not yet clear whether or not he’ll be ready to pitch early in the 2025 season.

Even setting aside the potential implications Minter’s health could have on Atlanta’s interest in a reunion, his injury woes lingering into the season could substantially impact earning power this winter, as well. MLBTR predicted a two-year, $16MM deal for Minter earlier this offseason as part of our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list, but that prediction came with the presumption that the southpaw would be ready for Opening Day in 2025. If Minter’s rehab from surgery leaves Opening Day in question for the lefty throughout the offseason, it would hardly be a surprise to see the 31-year-old settle for a one-year deal this winter in hopes of proving himself healthy and having a better chance at a more lucrative multi-year deal next year.

Braves Exploring Outfield Market, Prefer Left-Handed Bat

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The Braves are poking around the market for outfield help after non-tendering Ramon Laureano and prefer to add a left-handed bat if possible, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

It doesn’t seem as though Atlanta is intent on shopping at the top of the market. They’ve not been suggested as anything more than a speculative dark horse for top free agent Juan Soto. Veterans like Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernandez, Jurickson Profar and Tyler O’Neill all seem likely to command multi-year deals of note. The Braves are looking for some depth to help cover early in the season, in the likely event that Ronald Acuna Jr. is unavailable to begin the year; president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said at this month’s GM Meetings that they’re planning as though Acuna will open the season on the injured list.

With no Acuna, the Braves’ outfield would include Jarred Kelenic, Michael Harris II and some combination of Eli White, Luke Williams and recently signed Carlos D. Rodriguez. It’s logical that Atlanta would pursue some more solidity on that front. Some may feel Laureano could have provided just that, but his solid showing with Atlanta was buoyed by a .380 average on balls in play and came in spite of a 3.5% walk rate and 28.3% strikeout rate. Regression seems highly likely. Laureano hit just .218/.296/.373 in 2022-23 with a similar strikeout rate, twice the walk rate, and a BABIP about 100 points lower. Plus, he’s a right-handed bat.

Most of Atlanta’s moves in free agency and on the trade market thus far have been modest in scope. Anthopoulos rarely spends on long-term deals in free agency, preferring instead to operate on the trade market and to rely on a strong track record of in-house development. Atlanta has only given out three free-agent contracts greater than two years under Anthopoulos (link via MLBTR’s Contract Tracker): left-hander Will Smith (three years, $40MM), right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (three years, $30MM) and outfielder/DH Marcell Ozuna (four years, $65MM). None of that necessarily precludes a larger-scale deal, but history suggests it to be unlikely.

Fortunately for the Braves, there’s a fairly deep pool of inexpensive left-handed-hitting bats on this offseason’s market. Max Kepler, Michael Conforto, Alex Verdugo, Jesse Winker, David Peralta, Mike Tauchman and switch-hitting former top prospect Dylan Carlson are among the lefty bats available this winter. (Kepler and Conforto, in particular, might require multi-year deals.) The trade and waiver markets offer further possibilities.

Anthopoulos has already suggested this offseason that he expects his payroll to rise in 2025. The Braves spent about $232MM on last year’s roster and currently have a projected $202MM payroll in 2025, per RosterResource. That certainly leaves room for some additions, but Atlanta’s luxury-tax ledger is a bit more crowded.

The Braves have more than $217MM in projected luxury obligations, leaving them $24MM or so from hitting this year’s $241MM barrier. They’d be paying the tax for a third straight season if they cross that line and, as such, would be subject to the steepest tier of penalties. They’d start at a 50% tax on the first $20MM by which they exceed the line, followed by 62% for the next $20MM, 95% for the next $20MM (plus their top draft pick in 2026 dropping by ten places) and 110% for any dollars thereafter. With needs at shortstop, in the starting rotation and in the bullpen as well, Anthopoulos will have a hard time piecing everything together without crossing that line.

Braves Select Hurston Waldrep

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TODAY: The Braves officially announced the selection of Waldrep’s contract this morning. Right-hander Daysbel Hernandez was optioned to the minors and Acuna was placed on the 60-day injured list in corresponding moves.

June 8: The Braves are calling up top pitching prospect Hurston Waldrep, according to multiple reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman).  Waldrep will make his Major League debut on Sunday in a start against the Nationals, as Atlanta is giving Max Fried extra rest by pushing his next outing to Tuesday.  A 40-man roster space will have be opened to accommodate Waldrep, though that could be easily accomplished by moving Ronald Acuna Jr. or Spencer Strider to the 60-day IL.

The move represents another aggressive promotion from the Braves, as it was less than a year ago that Waldrep was selected with the 24th overall pick of the 2023 draft.  There was even some speculation that Waldrep was being considered for his MLB debut near the end of last season to give the Braves an extra high-powered bullpen arm for the playoffs, though the club opted against moving quite so quickly with the right-hander’s development.  Even still, Waldrep has only 84 2/3 pro innings under his belt, and just two starts at the Triple-A level.  Waldrep recorded 11 strikeouts over six innings with Triple-A Gwinnett last Sunday, allowing three earned runs on five hits and a walk in his first Triple-A outing of 2024.

This was enough to convince the Braves that Waldrep is ready for the Show, and the 22-year-old will now get an opportunity in what has become a revolving door of a fifth starter’s position.  Atlanta’s top four of Fried, Reynaldo Lopez, Charlie Morton, and Chris Sale has been very solid, but since Strider underwent season-ending elbow surgery, six other pitchers have gotten starts in Strider’s place.  None have achieved much success, so Waldrep might well get an extended look if he shows he can hang against big league hitters.

Waldrep was a consensus top-100 pick on preseason prospect rankings, with Baseball Prospectus (30th) and Baseball America (49th) the most bullish about his potential.  (He was ranked 77th by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, 80th by The Athletic’s Keith Law had him 80th, and 90th by MLB Pipeline, though Waldrep is now 72nd on Pipeline’s updated in-season list.)  There is universal acclaim for Waldrep’s splitter, which has upper-80s velocity and “completely falls off the table,” in the words of BA’s scouting report, leading to “ugly swings against hitters unable to hold back.”  Beyond this signature pitch is a fastball that regularly sits in the mid-90s and can hit as high as 99mph, and he also has a plus slider.

Controlling this arsenal has always been something of an adventure for Waldrep, so perhaps the most intriguing number on his 2024 stat line is his 7.56% walk rate over 55 1/3 total innings at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.  That is already a big upgrade from the 13% walk rate he posted in his first 29 1/3 pro innings in 2023, and if this improved command can continue in the majors, Waldrep has front-of-the-rotation potential.  At the very least, Waldrep might profile as an elite closer down the road if he can’t stick as a starter, but naturally Atlanta will give him plenty of looks in the rotation before deciding on that step.

The obvious comparison here is with the hard-throwing Strider, and Strider might well have matched Waldrep’s first-round pedigree if he hadn’t undergone a Tommy John surgery in college.  Of course, it would be asking an awful lot of Waldrep to match Strider’s meteoric rise to big league stardom, and if Waldrep is “only” a decent rotation arm in his first taste of the majors, that is still a huge achievement for a pitcher just a year removed from the University of Florida.

If Waldrep can stay on the Major League roster for this season and beyond, he’ll be in good position to earn an extra year of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player.  As per the Prospect Promotion Incentive qualification system, Waldrep can earn a full year of MLB service time if he finishes first or second in NL Rookie of the Year voting, though Waldrep would have to be truly exceptional to overtake the likes of Shota Imanaga, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jared Jones, or others who have excelled in the majors for the entire 2024 campaign.

MLBTR Podcast: Ángel Hernández Retires, Ronald Acuña Jr. Out For The Season And Roki Sasaki’s Potential Posting

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Could the next collective bargaining agreement have a feature to get relievers paid earlier? (43:15)
  • Would Taylor Ward of the Angels be a good fit for the Braves? (50:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Braves Designate Joey Wendle For Assignment

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The Braves announced a series of roster moves today, reinstating catcher Sean Murphy from the injured list and recalling outfielder J.P. Martínez. In corresponding moves, outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was placed on the 10-day injured list and infielder Joey Wendle was designated for assignment.

Wendle, 34, was just signed three days ago to serve as a depth infielder for the club. However, Atlanta was delivered a devastating blow yesterday when Acuña tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the 2024 season.

With Acuña out of the picture, Atlanta was left with just Michael Harris II, Jarred Kelenic and Adam Duvall for the outfield. They have recalled Martínez today to give them a fourth outfielder, which quickly nudged Wendle off the roster shortly after being added.

Atlanta will now have a week to trade Wendle or pass him through waivers. The Mets are on the hook for the majority of his $2MM salary since they released him last week. That means any club that brings him aboard would only have to pay the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Mets pay.

Wendle has had some good years as a solid bat who can competently play multiple positions, but he’s been in a rough skid at the plate for a while now. He hit just .259/.297/.360 in 2022 for a wRC+ of 84 and has been even worse since then. Dating back to the start of 2023, he’s hit .213/.247/.300 for a wRC+ of just 47.

But he’s still capable of bouncing around the diamond, with experience at the three infield positions to the left of first base and the outfield corners. Even without much offensive output, he’s capable of being a glove-first bench piece. He also hit .275/.330/.416 from 2017 to 2021, 106 wRC+, which could lend some hope to a bounceback at the plate.

For the moment, Atlanta’s roster depth is tenuous and it wouldn’t be a surprise if further moves were coming. Murphy’s activation gives the club three catchers, alongside Travis d’Arnaud and Chadwick Tromp. The club could have optioned Tromp to the minors but perhaps felt that would have left them thin behind the plate. Murphy is just returned from missing around two months due to an oblique strain while d’Arnaud missed some time this week after taking a foul ball to the mask and experiencing some dizziness. Perhaps they opted to keep Tromp around while they make sure both Murphy and d’Arnaud are healthy enough to play regularly.

In the meantime, that leaves them with no real backup infielder. Austin Riley hasn’t played in about two weeks due to some side soreness but the club hasn’t placed him on the injured list. That has forced Zack Short to step in as the regular third baseman. As of now, Atlanta’s bench consists of Riley, two catchers and one outfielder, at least until Riley is able to return. Perhaps Tromp will be optioned out for another infielder shortly, or Riley will return to the lineup and nudge Short back to the bench.

How the club decides to play the outfield will also be interesting to monitor. Kelenic and Duvall have been in a platoon this year, since Kelenic is a lefty who hits better against righties and Duvall is the opposite. Kelenic has hit .220/.298/.401 against righties in his career but just .189/.254/.309 against lefties, leading to respective wRC+ numbers of 96 and 60. Duvall has hit .235/.307/.474 against southpaws and .230/.285/.468 otherwise, producing respective wRC+ tallies of 104 and 95. With Acuña’s injury, they will likely give regular playing time to those two, with Martínez in the fourth outfielder role.

The 28-year-old Martínez was acquired from the Rangers in January. He has a line of .265/.337/.394 in Triple-A this year, 90 wRC+, stealing 14 bases in 20 tries. Double-digit steal totals have been a regular feature for him for a long time, including 41 in the minors last year. He also hit .298/.418/.543 in Triple-A last year, for a 133 wRC+, but hasn’t maintained that here in 2024. Like Kelenic, Martínez hits from the left side and has been better against righties this year. He has a .260/.348/.415 line against righties and .277/.306/.340 against southpaws this season.

Ronald Acuna Jr. Suffers Torn ACL, Will Miss Rest Of 2024 Season

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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

Ronald Acuna Jr. Exits Game With Apparent Knee Injury

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4:22PM: Speaking with The Athletic’s David O’Brien (X link) and other reporters after the game, Acuna said he will be placed on the 10-day injured list tomorrow, but he feels he might miss only about a month rather than a longer absence.  Acuna compared the feel of the injury to his 2018 ACL sprain rather than his tear three years ago.

2:49PM: Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. exited today’s game against the Pirates in the first inning due to an apparent injury suffered while running the bases, and he limped off the field while gesturing to his left knee. The Braves later termed the issue “left knee soreness.” Of note, the ACL tear that required surgery during the 2021 campaign affected Acuna’s right knee.

The severity of the injury is not yet clear and likely won’t be known in detail until after the game, but it appears likely that Acuna will miss at least some time due to the issue given his history of lower half injuries. In addition to the aforementioned ACL tear in his right leg, Acuna has also suffered a left knee injury before in his career. During his rookie season back in 2018, the phenom suffered a left knee contusion and mild sprain of his left ACL that kept him out of action for one month.

An absence of virtually any length for Acuna would be a major blow to the Braves on the heels of a tough month of May that’s seen them fall to second place in the NL East, seven games back of the surging Phillies for the division crown. That’s particularly true given the offensive funk the club has found itself in this season; Atlanta’s hitters have collectively posted a wRC+ of just 88 in the month of May that leaves the Braves bottom-six among all major league clubs.

Acuna has been in the thick of that slump. It’s been a rather pedestrian start to the season for the 26-year-old, as he’s posted a roughly league average .246/.348/.356 slash line in 221 trips to the plate entering play today. Despite those uninspiring numbers, there’s no denying Acuna’s ability to carry an offense when he’s at his best; the star outfielder is of course just one season removed from a historic 2023 campaign that saw him win the NL MVP award while crushing 40 home runs, swiping 70 stolen bases, and leading the major leagues with a .416 on-base percentage.

Acuna’s offensive malaise in 2024 after a standout 2023 season is shared between much of the Braves’ lineup. Austin Riley has not appeared in a game in two weeks amid an intercostal injury but sported a wRC+ of just 102 when healthy enough to appear in games, and other key pieces such as Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Michael Harris II have posted similarly pedestrian numbers at the plate this season after the club’s incredible 104-win campaign last year.

Looking at the potential roster impacts of Acuna’s injury, Adam Duvall and Jarred Kelenic are handling the corner outfield spots in Acuna’s absence this afternoon, though it’s possible the club could turn to Forrest Wall or J.P. Martinez to supply additional depth should Acuna require a trip to the injured list. It’s also possible that Acuna’s injury forces the Braves to make a decision regarding Riley’s injury, as the club has effectively been playing a man down for two weeks while he’s been unavailable and the club may not be able to afford the lack of production without Acuna’s bat in the lineup.

Rimas Sports Agency Facing MLBPA Sanctions

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5:15pm: Reporter Francys Romero relays that Ronald Acuna Jr. hired Rimas Sports as his agency in recent days.

2:20pm: Rimas Sports, the fledgling baseball agency launched last year by rapper and singer Bad Bunny, is facing sanctions from the MLB Players Association for violating the MLBPA’s agency regulations, as first reported by Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Alden Gonzalez and Jorge Castillo have also reported on the unfolding controversy. Per the ESPN report, Rimas’ lead agent, William Arroyo, has had his agent certification revoked.

Multiple other agencies have filed complaints against Rimas, alleging that the firm has offered large sums of cash and gifts to players as incentive to leave their prior agencies and join Rimas — a violation of the MLBPA’s code of conduct for agents. Ghiroli writes that some players have allegedly been given new cars. She adds that Rimas has had employees who are not certified as agents but have nevertheless represented themselves as such and acted in that capacity. Those employees had been seeking certification but are now expected to have their requests denied, per both Ghiroli and ESPN.

Rimas issued the following statement on the controversy:

“At Rimas Sports, we uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity of our industry. Out of respect for an ongoing process within the context of the MLBPA Agent Regulations, we will refrain from making any comments at this time. We remain committed to continue serving our clients with excellence.”

While decertification of a firm’s lead agent is obviously rare and noteworthy, violations of this manner are hardly unprecedented. Former MLBTR writer Zach Links and I wrote spoke with various agents about client poaching as far back as 2014.

Rimas Sports most notably negotiated the seven-year, $63.5MM extension for Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar earlier this year. Included among their other clientele are Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, Mets infielder Ronny Mauricio, Nationals outfielder Eddie Rosario (who only hired Rimas this offseason), Giants infielder Wilmer Flores, Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio, Reds infielder Santiago Espinal and Dodgers catching prospect Diego Cartaya (among others). The MLBPA has informed all of Rimas’ clients about the purported transgressions, per ESPN and The Athletic.

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