The Atlanta Braves must adjust their roster without MVP Ronald Acuna

The Atlanta Braves will never again hope for a drama-free spring training. This is what they had in February and March. The Braves only had one problem in the six weeks of preseason, and it wasn’t considered serious.

Most teams will have pitchers with sore arms or players with tight hamstrings. The Braves only saw Ronald Acuna injured when he found himself in a difficult situation on February 29. But after holding their breath, the Braves discovered that Acuna only needed two weeks off due to inflammation in his right knee, the same knee that blew out three years ago.

Turns out the relatively injury-free Grapefruit League was a rather ominous one. It may be best to address serious injuries before the season starts, since the Braves have had nothing but bad luck since the season began in late March in Philadelphia.

On Opening Day, wide receiver Sean Murphy was out with an oblique injury. He just returned to the list on Monday. Then, in Game 6, a week later, Spencer Strider’s drop in speed raised a huge red flag. This signaled an elbow injury and Strider would have elbow surgery to finish his season.

Just a few days ago, AJ Smith-Shawver suffered an oblique injury after having an exceptional start to the season. He will be gone for maybe two months. Third baseman Austin Riley also returned Monday after missing two weeks with his own oblique injury. The Braves were lucky it wasn’t longer.

But Sunday was the one that stung the most. Acuna was at second base in Pittsburgh, and all of a sudden he fell as if he had been shot off a grassy knoll. This time it was his left knee, and for the second time in three years, Acuna will miss the remainder of the season after repairing his ACL.

It’s convenient to say, “Well, the Braves won the World Series without Acuna three years ago, so maybe they can again,” and maybe they can. But there is no one on this team who will say that. They would rather Acuna be the player he was a year ago, the most valuable player, to help them win another title.

Now others will have to step in. Left fielder Jarred Kelenic will play regularly, not just right-handed pitching. Adam Duvall will also get regular playing time in right field, and he will need to be more consistent at the plate.

The rest of the roster, most of whom struggled through the first third of the season, will also need to push the button. Atlanta’s offensive woes in May were terrible. A team that averaged six points per game through the first 24 games has since averaged about three points per game. This won’t work, especially with the leader now on the board.

The sad thing about the Braves’ problems is that the pitching has been a plus. Despite Strider’s injury, the top four of the rotation did very well. Chris Sale and Max Fried are headed to the All-Star Game if they continue their strong work. Charlie Morton, aside from his debut Monday against Washington, has been solid. And Reynaldo Lopez was the most pleasant surprise, proving he can be a starting pitcher again after several years as a reliever.

But instead of general manager Alex Anthopoulos looking for an additional starting pitcher for the extension period, much like an insurance policy given what’s happened over the past two years, he now also has to monitor the market from the outfield. If Kelenic and Duvall struggle, Anthopoulos may have to do what he did three years ago and get some reinforcements. He’ll probably give them a chance first, especially since it’s only the end of May and most teams aren’t ready to give up and trade players yet.

It’s probably too much to ask of Anthopoulos to do exactly what he did three years ago, when he made six trades in two weeks to set the Braves up for the final two months. He got Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall and Jorge Soler for virtually nothing, and those four were the main reason the Braves won it all in 2021.

But there is no reason to doubt Anthopoulos. He’s made trades to help the Braves every year he’s been in charge, and he’ll do it again this year. Anthopoulos is too aggressive to not be active, so expect something to help improve this roster over the next couple of months before the trade deadline.

Not counting receiver, which is a position shared between Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud, the other eight regulars last season played an average of 148.9 games. It was a really healthy season, and that probably explains why the Braves set offensive records in 2023.

This year, they just weren’t as lucky. It’s almost cruel that they lost a pitcher who many predicted would win the Cy Young Award (Strider) and now the reigning MVP in Acuna. But surviving injuries is part of any long baseball season, and that test will simply be tougher this summer.

The 2021 season taught us that you can’t give up on a season just because a player is lost, so this one isn’t lost either. Whatever celebrations the Braves might have later this year, they simply won’t include Acuna, and considering what he did in his MVP season last year, that’s a real shame.

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