No one player can replace Ronald Acuña Jr.
For the time being – until Alex Anthopoulos makes a move – the job falls on Adam Duvall and Jarred Kelenic. Braves manager Brian Snitker said Monday that with Acuña lost for the season with a torn left ACL that Duvall would play right field and Kelenic would play left field every day.
Duvall hit a two-run home run on Monday in a loss to the Nationals to start a seven-game homestand. It gave Duvall five homers on the season, tied for third on the team. Duvall has homered three times in his past six games. Overall, Duvall is hitting .209 on the season with 13 RBIs. According to the Braves, each of his five home runs this season have come off left-handers, something he only did three times in 20 home runs last season.
Kelenic, who got off to a hot start, is hitting .258 with three home runs and nine RBIs. He is hitting .269 over the past seven games. He went 3-for-4 on Sunday against the Pirates.
“You don’t replace Ronald,” said catcher Sean Murphy, who returned to the lineup Monday for the first time since getting injured in this first at-bat of the season. “I don’t think there’s anyone in the big leagues who can do what Ronald does. So, everyone else might have to step up a little bit and we’ll try to combine for an extra Ronald, see if we can do that.”
We know that Anthopoulos famously remade the entire outfield in 2021 when Acuña was lost for the season with a torn right ACL. Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario and Duvall were added mid-season. That worked out with a World Series championship.
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