When Ronald Acuña Jr. injured his right knee on July 10, 2021, Alex Anthopoulos felt compelled to respond quickly.
The Braves' head of baseball operations wanted to send a message to the Atlanta players that the season was not lost, that the front office and the team should both keep fighting. Then, five days later, Anthopoulos traded for veteran outfielder Joc Pederson and catcher Stephen Vogt, and before the end of the summer, he would add three more outfielders: Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler. The Braves would win the World Series that fall, and those midseason additions contributed significantly.
Now Acuña has suffered another anterior cruciate ligament injury, in the other knee, and is out again this season.
The Braves' situation is not as serious as it was when Acuña was injured in 2021; At the time, Atlanta was struggling to play .500 and didn't have as deep a roster as it has now. But this time, the team has to move forward not only without the reigning NL MVP, but also without its most dominant pitcher, Spencer Strider, who suffered an elbow injury early in the season.
Chris Sale's early success (and good health) has helped plug the hole created by Strider's injury. But the Braves' offense, already in trouble after setting home run records last year, will need heroes to emerge in the lineup.
It could be third baseman Austin Riley, who is expected to return soon from a minor back injury suffered a couple of weeks ago. At the time, Riley had sensed that he was about to break out of an early season slump. “Am this close,” Riley said, keeping his index finger and thumb millimeters apart as he described how it felt at the plate.
Maybe it's Braves center fielder Michael Harris II, who knows what it means to break a slump. Last year, Harris was taken off the disabled list without taking at-bats in the minors because the staff felt his defense was too important, and for six weeks, he struggled mightily at the plate. But in his last 100 games, Harris hit .335 with 63 runs, 16 home runs and 15 stolen bases. He could be a natural candidate to move up to the leadoff spot.
All-Star catcher Sean Murphy was also just activated after missing most of the last two months with a ribcage injury. First baseman Matt Olson has already begun to come out of a slow start, hitting .290 with five home runs in his last 16 games. Through his April struggles, Olson had actually generated hard hitting rates that were in line with what he produced last year, but he didn't have the results to show for it. His colleagues felt that he had been a victim of BABIP's bad luck.
Many pointed to a game against the Red Sox on May 8: Olson hit a liner to left field that Boston third baseman Rafael Devers barely managed to throw. Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer could see Olson's shoulders slump in frustration as he watched another intercepted line drive.
But Devers couldn't hold the ball and Olson got a hit. Before the next game, Seitzer spoke with Olson about his reaction to Devers' brief interception. When Olson's shoulders dropped, Seitzer said, it was as if he could see that misfortune weighing on the All-Star first baseman. Seitzer told Olson that there was no point in holding on to that frustration, because those early-season at-bats were behind him and he couldn't change the outcome.
“As far as I'm concerned, the season starts today for you guys,” Seitzer said. Hours later, after Olson hit a home run in the series-opening victory over the Mets, Seitzer greeted Olson in the handshake line and punctuated his earlier comments: “Have a great season.”
Perhaps the Braves will get a boost from Ozzie Albies or Jarred Kelenic, the talented young outfielder who has had a good swing in his first season with the Braves. Perhaps Duvall, signed late in spring training, will take advantage of the additional playing time he will get. Perhaps Marcell Ozuna will continue to lead the offense, as he has done for much of this season.
“He might be the best hitter in baseball right now,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Sunday, describing a plate appearance Ozuna had against his team.
And the thoughtfully proactive Anthopoulos is sure to explore the commercial market and look for opportunities to improve, even at a time when his agricultural system is weaker than other contenders. Anthopoulos generally keeps some spending flexibility in reserve and, inevitably, other teams will look to unload expensive veterans as they fall out of the race. Vendors will develop and gardeners will become available. Tyler O'Neill, Harrison Bader, Mark Canha, Starling Marte, Tommy Pham, Rosario (again) and Kevin Kiermaier are among the players on short-term deals who could be transferred this year if their respective teams fall out of contention.
Braves manager Brian Snitker spoke earlier this year about the team's offensive woes and mentioned a trait he sees in the team's collective mentality. “These guys won't panic,” he said. “They will never panic. Three years ago we lost Acuña and these guys moved on.”
Three years ago they won the World Series without him.
Now the Braves will have to try to do it again.
