4 Ronald Acuña Jr. replacements the Braves may need for Opening Day

The Atlanta Braves were dealt their first bit of bad news on Friday when Ronald Acuña Jr. was scratched from Friday's lineup. It turns out that what they thought was a minor issue might be a bit more severe, as an MRI revealed that he's dealing with meniscus irritation.

The Braves don't seem overly concerned and believe Acuña will be ready to go for Opening Day, but setbacks happen and the Braves have little reason to rush their MVP knowing that they're playing for October.

Everyone hopes Acuña will be in the lineup leading off when the Braves head to Citizens Bank Park for Opening Day, but in the chance that he's unable to play, Atlanta might need any of these three players to step in.

4. The Braves might need to sign Tommy Pham by Opening Day

Whether Acuña is ready to go or not, the Braves could use a fourth outfielder upgrade. As of now, their fourth outfielder would likely be one of Forrest Wall or J.P. Martinez. Nothing against either of those players, but the Braves can and should do better there.

For whatever reason, there are several quality outfielders still sitting on the free agency market waiting to be signed. Tommy Pham is one of them, and makes a whole lot of sense for Atlanta.

Pham is coming off a bit of a resurgent season, putting up his best offensive year since the 2019 campaign. He split the season with the Mets and Diamondbacks, slashing .256/.328/.446 with 16 home runs and 68 RBI. He was one of the few bright spots on a bad Mets team and wound up hitting in the middle of the order for a Diamondbacks team that made it all the way to the World Series.

Pham can play every day in the event that Acuña needs to miss time, and can also be a solid fourth outfielder when all three of their starting outfielders are healthy. He'd make for a strong potential platoon option with Jarred Kelenic considering the fact that he had a .787 OPS against lefties this past season and has an .834 OPS against southpaws in his career.