The Atlanta Braves put five-time All-Star Ronald Acuña Jr. on the 10-day injured list with right Achilles tendon inflammation Wednesday, though the exact severity of the injury to the slugging outfielder may not be known until additional testing is done.
Acuña experienced the discomfort after chasing down a ball in right field. He’ll be evaluated further on Wednesday with an MRI in Atlanta.
“It’s an Achilles thing, it’s going to take a while,” manager Brian Snitker said after the Braves fell 9-6 to the Royals. “He’ll go on the IL and hopefully in 10 days or so it’ll clear up.”
Acuña first experienced discomfort in his calf area Monday night, when he scored from first on Austin Riley’s double to help the Braves to a 10-7 victory over Kansas City. Acuña lobbied to play on Tuesday night and Braves manager Brian Snitker assented, only for Acuña to come up limping while trying to chase down a ball in right field in an eventual 9-6 loss.
“It happened when I scored from first to home on that play,” Acuña explained after the game, speaking through an interpreter. “They are going to examine me (Wednesday) so we’ll see how it goes.”
Even after he came up limping, Acuña wanted to remain in the game. He headed out to his position in the field but saw Eli White trotting out to replace him. That Acuña was able to jog into the dugout at least generated some optimism that the injury to the Achilles tendon was not a complete tear and he could be back this season.
“I was kind of out there hoping they wouldn’t hit it my way and of course any time you do that, they always hit it your way,’ Acuña said. “I told them (about the pain Monday) and everyone said: ‘Take the day if you want it. You can have the day off.’ I’ve missed so much time already through injuries I didn’t want to miss any more time.”h.
The five-time All-Star and 2023 National League MVP missed most of last season with a torn left ACL, and only returned to the Braves’ lineup on May 23 this season. In 2021, Acuña tore his right ACL in July, and missed the rest of the year before a late-April return in 2022.
“It’s an injury, I’m worried,” Acuña said. “It’s more pain, but it feels kind of, I feel it a lot when I try to put pressure on it.” Acuña did walk off the field before a trainer followed him into the locker room.
The Braves (45-61) have dealt with numerous injuries during their disappointing season.
“It’s just like, Ozzie (Albies) hit a ball into the dirt and it went in his eye,” Snitker said. “I was worried that that was an oblique the way he reacted there. I don’t know, it’s just one of those things, you just have to deal with it. It’s not fun dealing with it, not easy dealing with it, but you just have to.”
Acuña is batting .306/.429/.577 with 14 homers and 26 RBIs in 55 games this season. He went 2 for 4 with a homer on Monday night. Snitker said Eli White will play right field in Acuña’s absence. The Braves recalled outfielder Jarred Kelenic from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Acuña’s place on the roster.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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