The Atlanta Braves got encouraging injury news Wednesday night, with Ronald Acuña Jr. reportedly moving around without a limp after leaving Tuesday’s game with a left shin contusion.
Acuña is still out of the lineup for the middle game against the Cincinnati Reds, but the update suggests the issue may not be lingering the way it first looked. According to the report, he was no longer walking with a limp after getting some rest and, presumably, ice overnight. The situation got even more reassuring when Walt Weiss reportedly said during his pregame press conference that Acuña was apparently trying to talk him into playing.
That was never going to happen with the postseason in mind, but it’s still a positive sign for Atlanta as it looks ahead to October.
The Braves also have Robert Suarez set to make his first big league appearance after being activated from a long stint on the injured list, giving the club another important arm back in the mix. Weiss is planning to use him tonight.
The timing matters for Atlanta. Since widening his stance on August 26, Acuña has been scorching at the plate, hitting .348/.408/.641 with a .445 wOBA and 184 wRC+. Suarez, meanwhile, was in sharp form before his injury, posting a 0.56 ERA and a 2.44 FIP over 32 innings pitched before going on the IL after his appearance on June 19.
For the Braves, the hope is simple: get both players healthy and ready when it counts most.
In Other News...
Braves Playoff Rotation Just Lost A Starter At The Worst Time
The Braves playoff rotation took a hit at the worst possible time Monday, when the club announced that Martn Prez is headed to the injured list with lower back inflammation. It is a late setback for a team trying to line up its pitching for October, and it leaves Atlanta with less breathing room than it wanted as the postseason gets underway.
Prez was in position to matter in the NL Wild Card Series, and his absence also carries over into the NLDS if the Braves advance. With only a short window to adjust, Atlanta now has to rethink how it wants to piece together its early-round pitching plans while waiting to see how the rotation picture settles. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Could Dangle Big Names To Fix A Roster Problem
The Braves have already wrapped up the NL East, but the work ahead in Atlanta is likely to be less about celebrating the division title and more about figuring out how to smooth out a roster issue that has lingered beneath the surface. With an offseason in front of them, the front office could have to weigh whether the cleanest path to improvement means moving from a position of depth or from a few recognizable names who still carry real value in the market.
Alex Lodise, Cam Caminiti, Eric Hartman, Ozzie Albies, Spencer Strider and Reynaldo Lopez are among the players mentioned as possible trade candidates, and each brings a different mix of recent performance and contract considerations that could shape how other clubs view them. For the Braves, the calculation is less about attaching a label to any one player and more about deciding which pieces are most useful in solving the problem at hand without weakening the core that got them back to the top of the division. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Leave Cincinnati With One Big October Concern
The Braves spent a weekend in Cincinnati with little left to decide in the standings, but plenty to monitor as October approaches. Ronald Acua Jr. left with a shin contusion, though the early tests came back clean, and Atlanta also got a mixed bag on the field with a shutout loss, a narrow extra-innings win and another close defeat. There were bright spots along the way, including work from pitchers JR Ritchie and Chris Sale, plus contributions from Matt Olson and Austin Riley, but the bigger picture was less about the record than about how the group is holding up.
For a club that already has its division and postseason position locked in, the final tune-ups are about health and rhythm, and Acuas status now sits at the center of that conversation. The Braves do not need to chase anything in the standings, which makes every late-game decision and every awkward step on the bases feel a little more important than usual, especially with October closing in and the margin for error shrinking in a different way. [Read more 🡒]