Alex Anthopoulos' plan to replace Ronald Acuña Jr. won't sit well with every Braves fan

Ronald Acuña Jr.'s season-ending ACL injury could very well cost the Braves their campaign, as well. While Acuña Jr. rightly pointed out that this Atlanta team has the talent to win a World Series without him -- as they did in 2021 -- the onus is on general manager Alex Anthopoulos to make the right decisions to replace Acuña Jr., one of the faces of the sport.

Thus far, the plan seems to be to replace Acuña Jr. in house. Atlanta's outfield is still one of the best in the National League even without the 30-70 threat, as Michael Harris II, Jarred Kelenic and Adam Duvall are a decent trio. However, the Braves outfield depth will be tested early unless they add talent at the position. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic doesn't expect the Braves to make a big move until the trade deadline.

"This time, the Braves are in a different position. Acuña’s injury occurred two months before the deadline, as opposed to three weeks. Anthopoulos does not yet know what the team’s needs might be. If a starting pitcher or two gets hurt, Anthopoulos might have little choice but to stick with an outfield of Duvall, Michael Harris II and Jarred Kelenic, and direct the bulk of his resources toward pitching," Rosenthal wrote.

Atlanta Braves fans won't love Alex Anthopoulos' plan to replace Ronald Acuña Jr.

As Rosenthal rightly points out, the Braves are already down one star player in their ace, Spencer Strider. While the rotation has stayed afloat thanks to tremendous efforts from Max Fried, Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and more the last month or so, Atlanta was already a good bet to add a starting pitcher prior to the trade deadline before Acuña Jr. went down. Now? They have bigger fish to fry.

Ideally, Atlanta's rotation can receive a boost from an internal option, such as Hurston Waldrep, or prospects like AJ Smith-Shawver when healthy and Spencer Schwellenbach. The latter performed well in his first career start, but the Braves need a No. 5 starter they can rely on moving forward as they chase a playoff spot. Right now, they do not have that.

Asking a rabid fanbase such as the Braves to stay patient is a bold move, but perhaps the only choice for Anthopoulos and an Atlanta front office that has a lot of questions to answer in the coming months.