Braves without Ronald Acuña Jr. rest of way: 'All we can do is go win it all for him' (2024)

ATLANTA — Some of the Atlanta Braves were teammates when Ronald Acuña Jr. tore the ACL in his right knee in 2021 and saw him come back better than ever by 2023 when he was a unanimous choice for National League MVP.

But that didn’t make it any easier to take when they heard late Sunday that Acuña had a complete tear of his left ACL. If anything, it made it harder.

“Broken,” Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies said, when asked how he felt about his close friend’s second major knee injury. “For him to go through this again, I know it’s hard. It’s not something easy. I’ve been hurt myself, so I know how it feels. It’s tough. And I know he’s just got to keep his mind ready and strong and do his rehab so he can be back next year, stronger than ever.”

Ozzie Albies describes his initial emotions after hearing the news that Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his left ACL:

"Broken. For him to go through this again, I know it's hard. It's not something easy." pic.twitter.com/mOOiuNndfN

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) May 27, 2024

Acuña was injured in the first inning of Sunday’s win at the Pittsburgh Pirates when he planted his left foot on an aborted stolen-base attempt and his knee buckled, sending him to the ground in pain. He limped off the field and was examined by a doctor at the ballpark, and an MRI after the team returned to Atlanta late Sunday confirmed team officials’ worst fears.

Players were informed via text before the Braves sent out a news release announcing Acuña had a torn ACL and would have season-ending surgery in the coming days.

“Obviously, we were all hoping it just wasn’t as bad as the news we got last night,” said Braves center fielder Michael Harris II, who idolized Acuña when Harris played at Stockbridge High School outside Atlanta, and has appreciated every day playing aside the superstar right fielder since Harris debuted in 2022.

“It’s a huge hit to this team, just the kind of player he is and what he does for us,” Harris said. “I mean, for him to go through it once, but now have to go through it twice — I know that really is kind of hitting him hard.”

Braves catcher Sean Murphy was activated Monday after a two-month injured list stint for a strained oblique. Murphy was excited to be back, but that was tempered by the Acuña injury.

“I feel terrible for Ronald,” Murphy said. “Personally, this must be brutal for him. I know he loves to play every day. It’s not gonna be easy on him, but we have all the faith that Ronald’s going to do what he needs to get back. But I’m sure he doesn’t feel too great today.”

In the first two months of the season, the Braves have lost Spencer Strider, the 2023 MLB wins and strikeouts leader who had season-ending elbow surgery after two starts, and Acuña, who last season became the first player to have as many as 40 homers and 70 stolen bases in a season, finishing with 41 and 73, while batting .337 with an NL-best 1.012 OPS.

Strider, 25, was a preseason Cy Young Award favorite, and Acuña, 26, was widely viewed as an MVP contender again not just this season but for many years to come. Now, he’ll likely be out until early next season and, if the previous return from ACL surgery was any indication, might not be himself again immediately once he’s back.

Acuña returned from the first ACL surgery in under 10 months, rejoining the Braves in late April 2022. He struggled with soreness and inflammation in the surgically repaired knee for much of that season, and it wasn’t until 2023 when he was back to his full capacity, in a season that offered baseball fans frequently breathtaking displays of his five-tool talent.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said he feared it was a torn ACL when Acuña fell in agony Sunday, then needed assistance to get off the ground and to descend the dugout steps. He said the initial exam in Pittsburgh also indicated the injury was severe.

“But you never know till you get it looked at,” Snitker said. “(Head trainer George Poulis) called last night. Kind of worst-case scenario.”

It’s two torn ACLs in less than three years for a player whom Braves icon Chipper Jones called the most talented to ever wear an Atlanta Braves uniform, and one whose potential seems to have no limit, provided he can overcome this injury as resoundingly as he did the first ACL surgery.

“That’s why I say I feel worse for the kid than for us, just that he’s got to go through this again,” Snitker said. “It kind of felt like he’s starting to get things turned around and going good. It’s just a freak kind of thing that happened. And I do, I feel for him to have to go through that process again.”

"It's kind of the worst-case scenario. … I feel worse for the kid than for us, just that he's got to go through this again."

Braves manager Brian Snitker on Ronald Acuña Jr. entering the process of rehabbing a torn ACL for the second time in three years ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/eJTK68NEeW

— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) May 27, 2024

Acuña had struggled for much of the early season, batting just .250 with a .716 OPS that was nearly 200 points below his .904 career OPS, and a 104 OPS+ that was 65 points below his career-best and NL-leading 165 OPS+ in 2023.

But in his last eight games before the injury, he hit .290 with an .849 OPS, two steals and four extra-base hits, including a triple and home run. Acuña had only two multi-strikeout games in his last 20 after striking out more than once in 12 of his first 29 games.

He was coming around, and teammates said it was only a matter of time before Acuña caught fire at the plate.

Even with his early struggles, he still had a solid .351 OBP and was a threat every time he was at the plate, who made opposing pitchers uneasy from the first pitch.

Leading off the first inning, he had a .333 average with an .857 OPS, and leading off any inning he hit .356 with a .420 OBP and .886 OPS. Not up to his lofty standards, but still the majors’ ninth-best average when leading off innings. A year ago, Acuña hit .384 with 18 homers and a 1.134 OPS leading off innings.

With more than two-thirds of the season left, his teammates believed he’d be back closer to that form before long. That is, until Sunday’s season-ending injury.

“Things happen when you play hard,” said Albies, who’s also had his share of injuries. “He’s going to go and be ready to go next year, like I said. If he follows his plan and does what he needs to do in rehab, he should be good to go. And hopefully it never happens again.”

“I feel like when you think of the Atlanta Braves, people think of Ronald,” Murphy said. “You know, he’s our leadoff hitter. When he goes, we go. I don’t think that’s any surprise to anybody; not saying anything shocking there. But we’re just gonna have to move on. Just keep plugging along with who we got.”

Snitker used switch-hitting Albies at the leadoff spot Monday against Washington Nationals left-hander Mitchell Parker in the Braves’ 8-4 loss but said he would go “day to day” in determining who hits atop the order. Albies said he didn’t expect it would be him most of the time.

There is no obvious candidate. Just as there is no one to fill Acuña’s shoes.

For the foreseeable future, Snitker plans to play Jarred Kelenic in left field and his former platoon partner, Adam Duvall, in right field. It’ll be a chance for Kelenic to show what he can do against lefty pitchers.

But the Braves, even if they make a trade in the next two months, aren’t expecting anyone to do all that Acuña does when he’s playing at his usual level.

"There's a lot of young kids and even adults out there that still want to dream that they're like him one day. He means a lot."@MoneyyyMikeee reacts to the Ronald Acuña Jr. season-ending ACL injury ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/InbzwtLQnx

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) May 27, 2024

“He’s changing the game,” Harris said. “He does a lot of things that people can’t do, and he does it at a high rate. I was here last year, his numbers speak for themselves. There’s a lot of young kids and even adults out there that still want to dream that they’re like him one day.”

Murphy said, “I don’t think there’s anyone in the big leagues that could step in and just do what Ronald does. So, everybody else might have to step up a little bit and we’ll combine — try to combine — for an extra Ronald. See if we can do that.”

The Braves won the World Series in 2021 after Acuña was injured during the last weekend before the All-Star break. Albies didn’t want to view it in that cold way Monday but said the Braves could derive motivation from an unfortunate situation.

“You lost one of the big pieces of the team,” he said. “All we can do is go win it all for him.”

(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

David O'Brien is a senior writer covering the Atlanta Braves for The Athletic. He previously covered the Braves for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and covered the Marlins for eight seasons, including the 1997 World Series championship. He is a two-time winner of the NSMA Georgia Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow David on Twitter @DOBrienATL