BRAVES
NORTH PORT, Fla. — Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. had an MRI exam Friday that showed irritation in the meniscus of his right knee. He will be evaluated by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday in Los Angeles.
“As of this moment – everyone is going to want to know timelines – we expect him to be ready for opening day, barring new information or something else,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said Saturday at the club’s spring training complex.
On Friday night, doctors examined Acuña, who was scratched from that day’s spring training game after reporting right knee soreness. Those doctors recommended Acuña receive an MRI.
Late Friday night, the Braves talked to ElAttrache, who looked at the MRI. It appeared to be irritation in the right meniscus, but the Braves want to make sure “we check all the boxes,” Anthopoulos said. Acuña hurt the knee in a rundown between second base and third base in the bottom of the third inning of Thursday’s spring training game. (For context: Acuña remained in the game through the end of the fifth inning, which perhaps signifies that he was all right at the time.)
With the information the Braves have at this point, they expect the reigning National League MVP to be ready for the team’s March 28 opener in Philadelphia. On Tuesday or Wednesday – after Acuña is evaluated by ElAttrache – the Braves will have a clearer plan and timeline.
“I’LL BE BACK,” Acuña posted in all-caps on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday afternoon.
ElAttrache is the doctor who performed surgery to repair Acuña’s torn right ACL in 2021. There’s familiarity between the doctor and the Braves superstar.
On Saturday, Acuña walked into the clubhouse without a limp. Before Friday’s game, he told the Braves he could play. But the team, of course, wouldn’t push its best player (or anyone, for that matter) in early March.
The Braves were glad to know it was only irritation in the right meniscus. Things could change based on how his visit with ElAttrache goes, but all signs point to Acuña being OK and avoiding a major injury.
By sending Acuña for an MRI on Friday night, the Braves got out ahead of the process instead of wasting a few days before doing it. This way, Acuña and the Braves will receive more immediate information from ElAttrache, who hopefully will confirm that this is nothing too concerning.
It’s not ideal to fly Acuña to California, but it’s March 2. The Braves have time before opening the season in Philadelphia, and they felt sending Acuña to ElAttrache was best. Acuña still will have time to get ready for the season.
A year ago, Acuña had the first 40-70 season – 41 home runs, 73 stolen bases – in MLB history. Acuña unanimously won the NL MVP Award in November.
During his historic season, Acuña played in 159 of the 162 games. Even if he experienced knee soreness in 2022, which caused the Braves to be careful with his workload, Acuña hasn’t been on the injured list since he went on it for tearing his ACL.
Over this winter, Acuña again played in the Venezuelan Winter League. In 21 games, he batted .380 with a 1.276 OPS. In other words: He continued where he left off after his MVP season. He played a lot of baseball last year, but his meniscus injury wasn’t from that – he suffered it on the rundown in Thursday’s game.
Now, the Braves will hope there are no surprises on Acuña’s visit to Los Angeles. They’ll look to get him healthy ahead of opening day.
Last month, when asked about an encore to his historic season, Acuña said anything is possible.
“The most important thing is health,” Acuña said through interpreter Franco García at the start of spring training. “I feel like as long as I’m healthy, I’ll be able to do some special things, hopefully, in this game.”
