We can file that World-Series-or-bust narrative in yonder trash can, right? Having lost their most talented pitcher for the season, the Braves just lost their most gifted position player. No way a team could win it all without Ronald Acuña Jr., right?
A season that hadn’t started all that well can be written off as Just One of those Years – except that the Braves won’t write off anything. Alex Anthopoulos saved the 2021 season by buying a whole new outfield. Guessing he’ll find an RF to rent.
The Braves’ chances of winning the NL East have dimmed, but who said winning the East was required? Who was the 2023 National League champ? The wild card Diamondbacks. Who won the 2023 World Series? The wild card Rangers. The Braves will miss Acuña, but – great though he is – there’s more to them than Acuña.
Almost three years after tearing his right ACL at the wall in Miami, Acuna tore his left ACL between second and third base in Pittsburgh. Now as then, he’ll miss the rest of the year. Now as then, he’ll face rehab, which is never fun.
How many athletes have been the same after torn ACLs in both knees? Cursory consultation with Dr. Google offers one precedent, and it’s not particularly germane: NFL defensive lineman Casey Hampton tore both, not at the same time. Here, though, we bow to an apt antecedent – Acuña himself.
He tore his right ACL in July 2021. He wasn’t ready for Opening Day 2022, but he didn’t miss it by much. His return came on April 28. He played right field that day, going 1-for-5. By his exalted standards, that was the least of Acuña’s big-league seasons. The next year, he became the first player to hit 40 homers and steal 70 bases.
Not two years after reconstructive surgery, Acuna was the NL’s unanimous MVP. We can’t know how he’ll be with repaired ligaments in both knees, but we shouldn’t assume the worst just because we awoke to a dark and stormy Memorial Day.
Acuña could tear a dozen more ligaments and the Braves wouldn’t give up on him. He’s 26. He’s under contract for two seasons beyond this; the club has the option to keep him for $17 million in 2027 and 2028. The Braves figured to try and sweeten Acuña’s much-derided contract soon, but now both parties might need to wait and see.
Acuña might return as splendid as ever. He also might not. Having a second rehabbed knee is one thing if you’re a DH, but here’s a guy you’d pay to watch run the bases. Yeah, he’s the Acuña who hits 500-foot home runs, but’s that’s not all he does. He’s a glorious mosaic. We can’t yet know how he’ll be a year from now, three years from now.
We return to that derided contract, signed in April 2019. The eight-year extension – option years not included – was for $100 million. He was a year removed from being MLB’s top prospect, 5-1/2 months removed from being named rookie of the year. That spring, Bryce Harper signed with Philadelphia for $330M over 13 years. Why did Acuña settle for so much less so soon?
Because Acuña was 21, not 26. The Braves offered financial security in exchange for his willingness to forgo arbitration and his first three chances at free agency. It would have been fascinating to see what price Acuña would have commanded had he become a free agent in November 2024, a year after 40-70. Now imagine how he’d feel today knowing he’d be hitting the market off a second ACL repair.
At 21, Acuña was set for life. He could play ball, come what may. What has come: four All-Star seasons, one MVP. But also: two torn ACLs. Sports hold no guarantee.
The Braves would have sought to redo Acuña’s contract soon, though he’s under no obligation to accept any extensions. Even with team options for 2027 and 2028, he can become a free agent at 30. (Freddie Freeman signed with L.A. at 32.) There will be many more chapters in Acuña’s story.
It’s a sad day in Braves Country, though history, being its pesky self, teaches us never to say never. On July 11, 2021, it was announced that an Acuña MRI showed a tear. The Braves were 44-45, holders of third place in the NL East. Yours truly penned a lament that began: “When it’s not your year, it’s not your year.”
Those Braves had lost their best pitcher (Michael Soroka) and best position player. Those Braves became World Series champs. Not saying it’ll happen again. But it did happen.
