A Braves trade with NL East rival for playoff hero to replace Ronald Acuña Jr.

The Atlanta Braves were dealt shocking news with reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. suffering a season-ending Torn ACL. Yes, Acuña hadn't quite been himself this season, but he's still one of the best players in the league. This kind of loss cannot be overstated.

Replacing Acuña is simply impossible. He is one of one. However, acquiring another outfielder is likely high up on Alex Anthopoulos' trade deadline to-do list now. They have Adam Duvall, a capable starter, ready to step in, but with Forrest Wall as the next-best option, Atlanta could use some more depth.

One player they can look to acquire is Washington Nationals outfielder Eddie Rosario, a player Atlanta traded for in the 2021 season when Acuña suffered his first Torn ACL. Rosario, of course, not only helped them get to the postseason, but helped them get to and win the World Series thanks to his postseason heroics.

If the Braves were to make a deal with their NL East rivals, here's what one might look like.

A Braves-Nationals trade that lands former postseason hero back in Atlanta

Eddie Rosario is not the player he was in the 2021 postseason run, but was a serviceable outfielder for Atlanta last season. Yes, they replaced him with Jarred Kelenic over the offseason, but Kelenic is cheaper, younger, has more team control, and far more upside. It was more about Kelenic than Rosario.

Rosario wound up signing with the Nationals late in the offseason and while he's played regularly, he hasn't done much. The 32-year-old is slashing .172/.228/.366 with seven home runs and 18 RBI in 43 games, but there are several reasons to believe he'd turn things around with a trade.

First, he's been much better in May, putting up an .895 OPS entering Monday's action. Second, he's struggled mightily against lefties, putting up a .336 OPS against them. Chances are, he wouldn't see much of any left-handed pitching with the Braves and can hit righties at a decent clip. Third, going from a team without postseason aspirations to a team in which he's already comfortable and that is ready to win now could perk his bat up.

In return for Rosario, Atlanta would send Daysbel Hernandez to the Nation's Capital. Hernandez might only have six MLB appearances in his career (two coming this season), but that says more about Atlanta's bullpen depth than anything.

The right-hander has a career 2.98 ERA in five minor league seasons and has a 2.55 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 13 appearances and 17 innings of work in 2024. Washington's late-game arms are great with guys like Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, and Dylan Floro taking charge, but their depth is sorely lacking.

Hernandez would come with tons of team control and there's some upside as well considering the fact that he has averaged 96.8 mph with his fastball according to Baseball Savant. The hard-thrower could be a potential bullpen piece of the future with Washington, and will likely never get that chance with Atlanta.

While the Braves might not want to give him up, Atlanta has several other depth arms to turn to like Ken Giles and Jackson Stephens (just to name a couple). They'd buy low on an outfielder who, when right, can lead them to glory as we saw in 2021.