The will once again be without their former MVP. . has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, the team announced Wednesday. was called up in a corresponding move. Acuña missed 15 days with the same injury last month and returned May 19. He played 19 games between the injuries.
“I’m disappointed, man. I don’t know how many injuries you need to pass,” Acuña said after the game Tuesday (via ). “… This one is easier. I don’t feel any pain. I just feel a little bit tight. Let’s see what happens in the MRI tomorrow.”
Acuña suffered the injury trying to beat out an infield single in the fourth inning of (). Both he and manager Walt Weiss expressed hope he would avoid the injured list and merely be day-to-day, but obviously that is not the case. Acuña will miss at least 10 days.
Injuries, most notably a pair of ACL tears, have limited Acuña to 557 of 877 possible regular-season games since 2021. The first ACL tear kept him off the field in the postseason during Atlanta’s 2021 World Series run. This is Acuña’s ninth MLB season and the latest hamstring strain is the seventh different injury that has sent him to the injured list
Possibly due to the hamstring issues, Acuña is not having a typical Acuña season. He’s hitting .251/.373/.421 with seven home runs and 15 stolen bases in 53 games played, which is strong production for most players, but does represent a down year for Acuña. Four years ago, he hit .337/.416/.596 with 41 home runs and 73 steals en route to being named National League MVP.
Acuña’s down year has not hampered the Braves much, if at all. They have baseball’s best record (45-22) and second-best run differential (plus-115), and a reasonably comfortable nine-game lead in the NL East. There is a lot of season still to play and the division race is far from over, but the Braves have built themselves a nice cushion.
The Braves went 8-6 during Acuña’s injured list stint last month. and platooned in right while moved to the leadoff spot, though Baldwin is now on the injured list with an oblique strain. also saw time at leadoff.
This is Year 8 of the eight-year, $100 million contract Acuña signed in April 2019. The Braves hold $17 million club options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons that are still likely to be picked up, even with the injuries.
