Ronald Acuña Jr. Rips His ACL Against Pirates & Out For Season
The Venezuelan outfielder for Atlanta is the third to be named MVP
Ronald Acuña Jr., an outfielder with the Atlanta Braves, suffered an ACL tear in his left knee during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
After he had an MRI, the Braves revealed the injury on Sunday evening. For the rest of the season, he will not play.
Ronald Acuña Jr. was injured during the first inning of Atlanta’s 8-1 victory, just as he was taking the lead on the base paths. Grabbing his left leg, he slumped to the ground clearly in pain. Before he finally hobbled off the field, he lay on the ground for a few moments receiving medical attention from trainers.
In the upper half of the first inning of a scoreless contest, Acuña sustained an injury. After a leadoff double to get to base, he tried to steal third base and got hurt. With a record of 30–20, the Braves are six games behind the Philadelphia Phillies (38–16), who are top the NL East standings.
Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered a serious hit.
The current MVP of the National League is 26-year-old Acuña, a four-time All Star. Slashing.337/.416/.596 with 41 home runs, 106 RBI, 149 runs scored, and 73 stolen bases in 2023, he led the league in runs, hits, stolen bases, and on-base percentage. With four home runs, fifteen RBI, and sixteen stolen bases in 48 games this season, he slashed.246/.348/.356.
In his career, Acuña has sustained two ACL tears. In 2021, he leaped to make a play in the outfield and severed his right knee’s ACL. After the game on Sunday, Acuña expressed optimism that he had not suffered another ACL sprain, despite having one in 2018.
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Reporters asked him whether he felt a pop similar to his last ACL tear, and he said he wouldn’t be shocked if he missed a month of recovery. Rather, he has had his second season-ending injury in his seven-year MLB career.
For the Braves, who went into the season wanting to contend for their second World Series title in four seasons, Acuña’s injury is the second that could end their season.
After sustaining an injury to his pitching elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament that required surgery to heal, All-Star starter Spencer Strider only got to play in two games. Among the preseason favorites to contend for the Cy Young this year was Strider, who placed fourth in the previous year’s vote.
Without their MVP and Cy Young hopefuls from the preseason, the Braves must now regroup.
