bill shanks
·5 min read
Never again will the Atlanta Braves hope for a drama-free spring training. That’s what they had this February and March. The Braves only had one issue pop up the entire six weeks of the preseason, and it wasn’t considered serious.
Most teams will have pitchers with sore arms, or position players with tight hamstrings. The Braves only had Ronald Acuna get hurt when he got into a rundown on February 29. But after holding their breath, the Braves found out Acuna only needed two weeks off with inflammation in his right knee, the same knee that popped three years ago.
Turns out that relatively injury-free Grapefruit League was instead a bad omen. Maybe it’s better to get the bad injuries out of the way before the season starts, since the Braves have had only bad luck since it began in late March in Philadelphia.
On opening day, catcher Sean Murphy went out with an oblique injury. He just got back on the roster Monday. Then in game six a week later, Spencer Strider’s velocity dip raised a huge red flag. That signaled an elbow injury, and Strider would have elbow surgery to end his season.
Just a few days ago, AJ Smith-Shawver injured his oblique after having a stellar season debut. He’ll be out perhaps two months. Third baseman Austin Riley also returned Monday after missing two weeks with his own oblique injury. The Braves were lucky it wasn’t longer.
Sunday was the one that stung the most, however. Acuna was on second base in Pittsburgh, and all of a sudden, he went down like he had been shot from the grassy knoll. It was his left knee this time, and for the second time in three years Acuna will miss the rest of the season after his ACL is repaired.
It’s convenient to say, “Well, the Braves won the World Series without Acuna three years ago, so maybe they can again,” and maybe they can. But there is not one person on that team who will say that. They would prefer Acuna to be the player he was a year ago, the most valuable player, to help lead them to another title.
Now, others will have to step up. Left fielder Jarred Kelenic will play regularly, not just again right-handed pitchers. Adam Duvall will also get regular playing time in right field, and he’ll have to be more consistent at the plate.
The others in the lineup, most of whom have struggled through the first third of the season, will also have to flip the switch. Atlanta’s offensive woes in the month of May have been awful. A team that averaged six runs per game through the first 24 games has averaged about three runs per game since. That won’t work, especially with the leadoff man now on the shelf.
The sad part about the Braves’ issues is the pitching has been a plus. Despite Strider’s injury, the top four in the rotation have done very well. Chris Sale and Max Fried are headed to the All-Star game if they keep up their solid work. Charlie Morton, except for his start on Monday against Washington, has been solid. And Reynaldo Lopez has been the most pleasant surprise, proving he can once again be a starting pitcher after several years as a reliever.
But instead of general manager Alex Anthopoulos looking for one more starting pitcher for the stretch drive, just as an insurance policy considering what’s happened the last two years, he now has to also monitor the outfield market. If Kelenic and Duvall struggle, Anthopoulos may have to do what he did three years ago and get reinforcements. He’ll probably give them a chance first, especially since it’s only late-May and most teams aren’t ready to give up and trade players just yet.
It’s probably too much to ask for Anthopoulos to do exactly what he did three years ago, when he made six trades in two weeks to prep the Braves for the last two months. He got Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall and Jorge Soler for basically nothing, and those four were the main reason the Braves won it all in 2021.
But there is no reason to doubt Anthopoulos. He’s made trades to help the Braves every year he’s been in charge, and he will again this year. Anthopoulos is too aggressive to not be active, so expect something to help make this roster better in the next two months before the trade deadline.
Not counting the catcher, which is a shared position between Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud, the other eight regulars last season averaged 148.9 games played. That was a really healthy season, and it probably helps explain why the Braves set offensive records in 2023.
This year, they simply have not been as lucky. It’s almost cruel that they lost a pitcher who many predicted would win the Cy Young Award (Strider) and now the reigning MVP in Acuna. But surviving injuries is part of any long baseball season, and this test will simply be a tougher one this summer.
The 2021 season taught us you can’t give up on a season just because one player is lost, so this one isn’t a goner either. Whatever celebrations the Braves may have later this year just won’t include Acuna, and considering what he did in his MVP season last year, that sure is a shame.
Listen to The Bill Shanks Show weekdays at 3:00 pm ET on 104.3 FM in Savannah and on TheSuperStations.com. Email Bill at TheBillShanksShow@yahoo.com.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Atlanta Braves must adapt lineup without MVP Ronald Acuna
