Ronald Acuña Jr., the star player for the Atlanta Braves, suffered a complete tear of his ACL during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The injury occurred when he planted his foot in the infield dirt while attempting to retreat to second base.
This means he’ll require season-ending surgery, a significant loss for both Acuña and the Braves.
A non-contact injury has forced Ronald Acuña Jr. to exit the Braves' game vs. the Pirates.
🎥 @BravesonBallypic.twitter.com/nobPlUwnaG
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 26, 2024
Despite the seriousness of the injury, Ronald Acuña Jr. didn’t initially feel the same intense pain as when he tore his right ACL in 2021. He likened the sensation more to a previous left ACL sprain from his rookie year in 2018.
This gave him hope for a less severe diagnosis and a shorter stint on the injured list, which was also echoed by the team manager, Brian Snitker.
But Snitker said,
“Oh, yeah, absolutely concerned. But we’re not going to know anything until we get him looked at, and we can’t right now.”
Due to the holiday weekend, there was no immediate MRI available in Pittsburgh, so the Braves waited until they returned home.
Once in Atlanta, Acuña underwent the MRI, confirming the ACL tear. Surgery has not yet been scheduled.
After his previous ACL surgery in July 2021, Acuña returned in less than 10 months but struggled with soreness and inflammation in the knee throughout the 2022 season.
However, in 2023, fully recovered, he had a remarkable season, batting .337 with 41 homers, 106 RBIs, and leading the league with 73 stolen bases and a 1.012 OPS.
This year, Acuña faced knee inflammation again during spring training, stemming from an incident on the bases in February.
Despite struggling this season with a lower batting average and OPS compared to his career average, Acuña has felt healthy and strong throughout the year.
Recently, he showed signs of improvement, hitting the ball harder and reducing his strikeout rate.
In Sunday’s game, he even started with a double off the center-field wall, demonstrating his offensive potential. However, the attempt to steal third base ended tragically with his injury.
“He saw the catcher throw the ball back to the pitcher very slow and he was timing it out so he could go to third,” said Braves coach Eddie Perez, translating for Acuña in the postgame interview at Pittsburgh. “But then at that moment (Bart) threw it hard, so he had to come back. That’s when he felt it.”
As he lay on the ground, Acuña said initially he was frightened.
“Yeah, he got scared a lot because he felt the pain in the beginning, but then it’s been going away for a while,” Perez said, translating Acuña’s response.
Although the pain wasn’t as severe as when he tore his right ACL in 2021, the injury to his left knee was indeed the same.
When he tore his right ACL, Acuña was in tears, but this time, he appeared more frustrated when coming off the field. Acuña confirmed this feeling afterward, expressing his frustration with the situation.
“Yeah, he said he feels very bad because everything about the knee and whatever he’s been going through,” Perez said, before quoting Acuña saying, “I just feel bad, but hopefully everything’s going to go well this time.”
The MRI results were devastating for both the Braves and their star player.
