Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. out for season with torn left ACL

Reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. tore the ACL in his left knee Sunday and will miss the remainder of the season, a major blow to an Atlanta Braves team that has already lost the ace Spencer Strider for 2024.

Acuña collapsed between second and third base in the first inning of the Braves’ game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after his left knee buckled during a delayed steal attempt. An MRI revealed a torn left ACL, which occurred less than three years after Acuña suffered the same injury to his right knee while jumping to catch in right field.

Acuña, 26, is considered one of the best players in Major League Baseball and the franchise player on a Braves team that entered the season as the second most likely to win the World Series. Despite losing Acuña in 2021, the Braves recovered to sneak into the postseason with 88 wins and won their fourth championship.

Atlanta won a major league-best 104 games last season as Acuña hit .337/.416/.596 with 41 homers, 106 RBIs and 73 stolen bases. Never before had a player finished a season with at least 40 home runs and 70 stolen bases, and that feat propelled Acuña to the unanimous MVP award. The Braves fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series for the second straight season.

So Acuña entered the 2024 season with outsized expectations — and, like many of his Braves teammates, he had struggled through the first third of the season to reach them. In 49 games, Acuña hit .250/.351/.365 with four home runs, 15 RBIs and 16 stolen bases while playing below-average defense.

Before the team’s announcement that Acuña would miss the season, he told reporters the injury was less serious than the 2018 injury.

“(I) don’t feel any pain or pop or anything. … Don’t think it’s that bad,” Acuña said.

Following the team’s announcement, Acuña posted a one-word message on social media: “Sorry,” accompanied by a heartbroken and crying emoji.

Sorry💔😪

– Ronald Acuña Jr. (@ronaldacunajr24) May 27, 2024

Losing Acuña — who led Sunday’s 8-1 win over the Pirates with a double — is still a blow for a Braves team whose offense faded after a career-high .501 slugging percentage last season. While designated hitter Marcell Ozuna has been one of the best hitters in baseball, Atlanta’s other main hitters – first baseman Matt Olson, second baseman Ozzie Albies, third baseman Austin Riley and center fielder Michael Harris II – all have an OPS below .750.

Atlanta’s pitchers nevertheless carried it to a 30-20 record, tied for second in the NL with the Los Angeles Dodgers and behind the Phillies 38-16, who are six games ahead of the Braves in the NL East and have the highest rating in MLB.

The Braves received standout performances from left-hander Chris Sale – whom they acquired in a trade over the winter – as well as free agent signing Reynaldo Lopez, whose 1.75 ERA is the third best in the NL. Atlanta needed both to step up after Strider, the 25-year-old who led baseball with 281 strikeouts last season, underwent Tommy John surgery in April.

Acuña burst onto the scene as a 20-year-old in 2018 and won the NL Rookie of the Year award after hitting .293/.366/.552 with 26 home runs. Before the following season, he signed an eight-year contract extension worth $100 million that included two club options, and this was quickly considered the most team-friendly deal in sports .

Acuña expressed hope last winter that he would be able to sign a new extension that would pay him more than the sport’s top players, but discussions never came to fruition. Acuña currently does not have an agent representing him on the baseball side, but he recently signed with Rimas Sports — whose primary agent was recently decertified by the MLB Players Association — to handle his marketing and endorsements.