The Atlanta Braves are facing a dilemma after an injury to right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr.
The Atlanta Braves are facing with a troubling development after an injury to right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. Atlanta is currently without three of its everyday starters, after just one month of play.
Acuna injured his left hamstring during Saturday’s game against the Colorado Rockies, pulling up while trying to beat out a ground ball.
After undergoing an MRI, the Braves unfortunately placed him on the 10-day injured list on Sunday morning. “Additionally, the club selected OF Jose Azocar to the major league roster and placed OF Ronald Acuna Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring,” the team wrote on X.
Acuna’s absence alone would be significant, but he is far from the only outfielder unavailable. Jurickson Profar, who was expected to be a key contributor this season, is suspended for the entire year due to PEDs and is not an option.
To make matters worse, Michael Harris is dealing with left quad soreness and is currently unable to play center field. That leaves Atlanta down all three of its starting outfielders, forcing the club to add Jose Azocar just to field a functional group.
Fortunately for the Braves, their roster is loaded with talent elsewhere, and they still own the best record in MLB at 24-10. They have enough talent to stay competitive, but the state of their outfield is undeniably troubling and raises real questions about how good this unit can be until reinforcements return. The hope is that Harris will be the first to make it back to the field, but nothing is guaranteed.
The bigger concern, of course, is Acuna. This marks yet another season in which he will spend time on the injured list, adding to a long history of setbacks that includes ACL tears in both knees.
Even before the left hamstring strain, Acuna was off to a rough start offensively, hitting .252 with a .362 on-base percentage, .740 OPS, two home runs and nine RBIs through 34 games. Now he must work through a hamstring injury on top of trying to regain his form at the plate when he returns.
Acuna’s track record speaks for itself. Over nine seasons, he has been an NL Rookie of the Year, NL MVP, five-time All Star and three-time Silver Slugger. However, as of now, it remains unclear when Acuna will get the opportunity to try and play at that level again.