Ronald Acuna Jr. suffers torn ACL and will miss remainder of 2024 season

Reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. suffered a complete torn left ACL during today’s game, as announced by the Braves following an MRI exam this evening. Acuna will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the 2024 season.

Acuna was taking the lead to second base in the first inning of Atlanta’s 8-1 win over the Pirates when he faked a possible steal attempt while heading to third base. However, Acuna’s left leg twisted beneath him and he fell to the ground in obvious pain. Speaking to reporters after the game, Acuna said he did not feel any pop in his knee and expressed hope that he could perhaps miss only a month of action if his knee was only tense, but unfortunately the MRI revealed the worst case scenario. for the star outfielder.

This is the 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 faster than expected and was back in Braves roster at the end of April 2022, although that is not the case. It doesn’t appear he’s back to full form, as Acuna batted a relatively disappointing .266/.351/.413 in 533 plate appearances this season.

With a full, normal offseason of preparation and recovery during the winter of 2022-23, Acuna bounced back with not only its best season, but one of the best overall seasons in sports history. Acuna was a unanimous choice as NL MVP after hitting .337/.416/.596 with 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases (in 87 attempts). This made Acuna the first player to have a 40-50 season, not to mention the creation of the 40-60 and 40-70 clubs.

This type of season would have been difficult for anyone to follow, but Acuna was hitting just .246/.348/356 over 221 PA before what turned out to be his final game of the 2024 campaign. d’Acuna were still above average but well below his career standards, and his home run total (four) and overall power dropped sharply. He’s also returned to his pre-2023 free agency ways, after being one of baseball’s toughest hitters to strike out last season.

We’ll never know if Acuna could have shaken off that slow start, as he faces another brutally long absence from the Braves lineup. Since Acuna suffered a complete ACL tear, his recovery appears to be longer than the usual 7-10 month time frame for such surgeries. That would still put him in line to return by Opening Day 2025, although it seems entirely possible that Acuna and the Braves will consider a longer rehab this time given that it’s Acuna’s second ACL tear, and because his previous relatively quick return in 2022 seemed to result in lingering knee pain and his relatively 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 iconic star. Acuna still won’t turn 27 until December, and yet while he has plenty of time to continue building on what appears to be a Cooperstown-worthy career, no one knows if he’ll be able to return to his old form after ACL operations. on both knees.

The Braves overcame Acuna’s previous ACL injury to launch an improbable run toward the 2021 World Series crown. Atlanta opted to double down on its bid to stay in the playoff race by adding four outfielders (Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, Joc PedersonAnd Adam Duval) before the trade deadline, and the entire quartet stepped up to help carry the team through the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs. Soler even earned World Series MVP honors and Rosario was the NLCS MVP, solidifying Alex Anthopoulos’ bold decision to reload rather than not abandon the season after the loss of Acuna.

With that in mind, it’s impossible to say Acuna’s latest injury will doom Atlanta’s chances in 2024, even though president of baseball operations Anthopoulos now faces another tricky path to building a championship team. Although the Braves are six games behind the Phillies for the NL East lead, Atlanta’s 30-20 record gives them a comfortable five-game advantage for the top NL wild card spot, and that certainly looks like a return to the playoffs is in the cards. This is despite the shoulder seasons of most Braves players (except Marcell Ozuna And Travis d’Arnaud), Sean Murphy missing almost the entire season with an oblique strain and a staff ace Spencer Strider undergoes his own season-ending surgery with an internal brace procedure.

Since the Braves still gave it a shot in 2021 despite a sub-.500 record in early August, they’ll obviously still be all-in on a title given their team-record payroll and one of baseball’s most enviable collections . term talent. Jarred Kelenic And Adam Duval have split time in left field, so either they could move to right field for now, or Atlanta could simply stick with the left field platoon and look to find another full-time replacement on the trade market. Making an early move in a trade could be costly for Anthopoulos, but he could look to replicate 2021 by adding several outfielders in somewhat inferior deals.

If the Braves really wanted to get the group together, Rosario (now with the Nationals) should be available as a deadline rental and Pederson could be the same if the Diamondbacks can’t get back into contention. In terms of inside help, Atlanta’s tendency to rarely rest its starters means that Acuna, Kelenic, Duvall, Michael Harris IIand (with an inning to right field) Forest wall are the only players to have worked in the Braves outfield all season. Wall, JP MartinezAnd Luke Williams are all at Triple-A and on the 40-man roster, plus Elie White And Skye Bolt are among a few other Triple-A outfield options with Major League experience. Newly acquired utility Zack runs has also spent time in the outfield during his career and plans to be a part of that mix as well.

While there will be no shortage of trade speculation surrounding the Braves as the July 30 deadline approaches, the obvious fact is that there is no way to truly replace Acuna, despite his struggles in 2024. The loss of ‘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 their strong work. The Braves’ bid to win a seventh straight division title is already in jeopardy thanks to the Phillies’ strong start, and without Acuna it will be much more difficult for the Braves to return to the World Series.

Photo courtesy of Sports images from USA Today