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Ronald Acuna Jr. has had another season beginning to be derailed by injuries. The 28-year-old Atlanta Braves superstar was placed on the 10-day injured list for the second time this year last week with a left hamstring strain. He suffered the injury while attempting to leg out an infield single against the Chicago White Sox.
This is not a new issue for Acuna. Unfortunately, it was a reaggravation of his original Grade 1 left hamstring strain that caused him to miss three weeks back in May. This time around, his absence will likely be even longer.
On Wednesday, speaking with reporters, manager Walt Weiss said that Acuna is still a "long way" from returning (h/t Mark Bowman of MLB.com).
Weiss added that the reason behind the cautious approach is because the injury is in the same spot as his original Grade 1 left hamstring strain. The Braves are not willing to rush him back into action.
Acuna has been shut down from baseball activities over the past week and has not been able to test out his left hamstring. During his first setback in May, Acuna had already begun running after a week.
Before going down, Acuna had begun to wake up offensively. Over his last 18 games, he had posted a .273 batting average, .333 on-base percentage, .885 OPS, five home runs and 13 RBIs.
Even when Acuna is not stealing bases, he has always had the ability to crush the baseball. Atlanta simply cannot replace a player of his caliber. Even if he is not the same athlete he was in 2023, he remains a former National League Rookie of the Year, MVP, five-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger.
Given the outfield picture in his absence, it may be in Atlanta's best interest to add a proven outfielder at the trade deadline rather than giving Eli White consistent playing time.
Atlanta is well-positioned in the National League East standings right now, holding a comfortable lead over their division rivals. The hope is that with a cautious approach, Acuna can get fully healthy and be a contributor again in the second half.
A return before the All-Star break appears unlikely at this point, but if the Braves can get him back and productive sometime in August, he could still play a meaningful role in what is shaping up to be a very real World Series push for this club.
Continue reading...
This is not a new issue for Acuna. Unfortunately, it was a reaggravation of his original Grade 1 left hamstring strain that caused him to miss three weeks back in May. This time around, his absence will likely be even longer.
On Wednesday, speaking with reporters, manager Walt Weiss said that Acuna is still a "long way" from returning (h/t Mark Bowman of MLB.com).
Weiss added that the reason behind the cautious approach is because the injury is in the same spot as his original Grade 1 left hamstring strain. The Braves are not willing to rush him back into action.
Acuna has been shut down from baseball activities over the past week and has not been able to test out his left hamstring. During his first setback in May, Acuna had already begun running after a week.
Before going down, Acuna had begun to wake up offensively. Over his last 18 games, he had posted a .273 batting average, .333 on-base percentage, .885 OPS, five home runs and 13 RBIs.
Even when Acuna is not stealing bases, he has always had the ability to crush the baseball. Atlanta simply cannot replace a player of his caliber. Even if he is not the same athlete he was in 2023, he remains a former National League Rookie of the Year, MVP, five-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger.
Given the outfield picture in his absence, it may be in Atlanta's best interest to add a proven outfielder at the trade deadline rather than giving Eli White consistent playing time.
Atlanta is well-positioned in the National League East standings right now, holding a comfortable lead over their division rivals. The hope is that with a cautious approach, Acuna can get fully healthy and be a contributor again in the second half.
A return before the All-Star break appears unlikely at this point, but if the Braves can get him back and productive sometime in August, he could still play a meaningful role in what is shaping up to be a very real World Series push for this club.
Continue reading...
