Ronald

Acuna Jr.

It’s a procedural move that creates room on the 40-man roster. Acuña Jr. will miss the rest of 2024 after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the procedure in Los Angeles. Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters Thursday that Acuña will stay in Los Angeles for “a month or more” at the outset of his rehabilitation process, which is expected to carry into the early portion of next year. There’s optimism that the 26-year-old fantasy superstar will be ready for the start of next season, barring any setbacks.

The procedure will be performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed Acuña’s other ACL surgery on his right knee back in 2021. There won’t be an official timetable for his return until he undergoes surgery next week as ElAttrache will determine at that time whether he suffered any additional structural damage to his knee, which would keep him sidelined much longer. If it winds up being a straightforward ACL surgery, there’s enough reason for fantasy managers to optimistically project Acuña to be ready for the outset of the 2025 campaign.

Acuña Jr. was diagnosed with a torn ACL last night and will be out for the season. It’s a brutal blow for the Braves and Acuña Jr., who has now torn the ACL in both of his knees. The Braves called up J.P. Martinez to take Acuña Jr.'s spot in on the active roster, but Adam Duvall will likely see an uptick in playing time until the Braves maybe make a move for an outfielder.

Just an absolutely brutal blow for the Braves and for fantasy managers. The 26-year-old outfielder had been hopeful that he would only need to miss a month’s worth of action, but his MRI exam on Sunday revealed the extensive damage. Expect Braves’ general manager Alex Anthopoulos to hit the trade market to bring in another option to bolster the Braves’ outfield in the wake of this miserable news.

The 26-year-old superstar elaborated, saying that the injury feels like the same injury that he dealt with in 2018 on his left knee, and that he expects to miss around a month as he did at that time. Presumably, he’ll head for an MRI to determine the full extent of the injury, but either way it sounds like the Braves — and fantasy managers — are going to be without the top overall pick in fantasy leagues for a while.

Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that this is just the initial diagnosis for Acuña Jr., and that he’ll need to undergo further testing. The results of imaging will determine the severity, but it seems very likely that a trip to the injured list is coming for the 26-year-old. Fantasy managers should be be prepared to get him out of their lineup for the week.

Acuña Jr. had to be helped off the field after he planted his left leg in an attempt to get back to second base. It’s worth noting that this appeared to be a knee issue, and that’s the same knee that had to be surgically repaired after a torn ACL. The outfielder appeared to be in serious pain before exiting. Acuña Jr. will assuredly undergo testing, and his status should be updated before the end of Sunday’s game.

Acuña sent Bailey Falter packing in the eighth inning, but only cut the Pirates lead to 11-3. The full season line remains a disappointment, but his OPS has trickled up to .712 which is in the same range as teammates Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson.

Acuña received the day off on Wednesday as the Braves look for him to break out of his slump. He went 0-for-5 at the plate on Tuesday, which dropped his average to .245 on the season. Acuña’s .696 OPS is the lowest of his career. Hopefully the short break helps him get on track.