This disastrous Atlanta Braves season acquired a bit worse Tuesday night time. Outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. exited Atlanta’s loss to the Kansas City Royals (KC 9, ATL 6) with proper Achilles tightness and can go on the 10-day injured record, according to The Athletic. Tuesday was Acuña’s fifty fifth sport of the season after getting back from final 12 months’s ACL tear.
Following the sport, Acuña was in a strolling boot, and he informed reporters his Achilles first began to hassle him throughout Monday’s sport (via MLB.com). He will probably be evaluated Wednesday to find out the extent of the damage.
Acuña exited Tuesday’s sport within the sixth inning after chasing after a foul ball alongside the road and a double into the hole by back-to-back batters. He was capable of stroll off the sector beneath his personal energy, albeit gingerly, which is nonetheless encouraging. Strolling with a major Achilles damage is just about unattainable.
Previous to exiting Tuesday’s sport, Acuña was 0 for two with a stroll, giving him a .306/.429/.577 batting line with 14 residence runs in his 55 video games this season. He has solely stolen 4 bases, nevertheless, a far cry from the 73 bases he stole throughout his 2023 NL MVP season. It’s comprehensible although that Acuña would rein it in on the bases following his second ACL tear.
Atlanta’s complete Opening Day beginning rotation is on the 60-day injured record (Grant Holmes, Reynaldo López, Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver) and now they will be with out their finest place participant for at the very least 10 days. Given the workforce’s 45-61 report, anticipate the Braves to deal with Acuña’s restoration conservatively. There isn’t any must rush again.
Alex Verdugo, who appeared in 56 video games for the Braves earlier this 12 months, was launched on July 5. Acuña’s damage may imply a return to the large leagues for former high prospect Jarred Kelenic, who’s hitting a weak .217/.289/.322 in Triple-A. The Braves lack depth and their subsequent finest outfield choice is utility man Eli White.
Tuesday’s loss pushed the Braves to 12 ½ video games behind the third wild-card spot. They’re anticipated to promote some complementary gamers previous to Thursday’s 6 p.m. ET commerce deadline.