Atlanta Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. is out for the remainder of the 2021 MLB season with a torn ACL, the club announced late Saturday night.
Acuna will undergo surgery and, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, is expected to miss nine to 10 months.
In the fifth inning of Saturday's win over the Miami Marlins, Acuna attempted to make a leaping grab in right field and landed awkwardly on his right leg.
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Visibly emotional, Acuna had to be carted off the field.
This obviously is a major blow to the three-time defending NL East champions. Acuna paces Atlanta this season in runs (72), home runs (24), batting average (.283), on-base percentage (.394) and slugging percentage (.596). Among National League hitters, Acuna is first in runs, second in OPS (.990) and third in home runs.
The 23-year-old was set to make his second straight All-Star Game start in Tuesday night's Midsummer Classic.
MLB
Atlanta trails the first-place New York Mets by four games in the NL East standings and is seven games out of the second wild card spot. The Braves had been playing better of late, winning seven of their last 10 to get back to .500, but their climb to a playoff spot just became a whole lot tougher.