Braves won't risk an unnecessary trade to replace Ronald Acuña Jr.
Atlanta Braves fans knew Ronald Acuña Jr.'s injury was a bad one when he had to leave Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but they had hoped that they avoided the worst. Even Acuña himself felt as if he had avoided the worst. Unfortunately, the reigning NL MVP winner suffered a Torn ACL, ending his season prematurely.
Losing a player like Acuña is impossible for any team to replace. Even with his slow start to this season, he's still one of the best players in the sport. With that in mind, adding another outfielder felt like something Alex Anthopoulos was going to do sooner than later.
As it turns out, that isn't exactly the case. MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported that he expects Atlanta to stay internal for now, and that they'll likely pursue outfield help around the trade deadline. The Braves won't make a trade now just for the sake of making a trade.
"While I am told for now they are going to stay internal... I would expect at some point in time, an outfielder will arrive to Atlanta."@jonmorosi on how the Braves will address Ronald Acuña Jr.'s injury and a few outfielders he expects to be available at the trade deadline ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cfFwFiE1NP
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 28, 2024
Braves won't take unnecessary risk with immediate trade to replace Ronald Acuña Jr.
Anthopoulos made a shrewd signing late in the offseason, inking Adam Duvall to a cheap one-year deal. Duvall was expected to platoon with Jarred Kelenic in left field, and had been, until Acuña's injury. Now, Atlanta has the luxury of placing him in the lineup every day and getting production.
Duvall has already done well for the Braves in Acuña's spot, hitting a home run and a double while driving in a pair of runs in two games. The Braves offense hasn't generated much, but that's not Duvall's fault.
Duvall will have the chance to play regularly and if he plays well, there's a chance Atlanta won't feel the need to make a major deal at all. If he doesn't, perhaps that'll get Anthopoulos on the phones. Duvall is good enough to give a chance to before Anthopoulos has to be desperate and make a separate deal.
By waiting, Anthopoulos will get whoever he targets for cheaper and should have more players to choose from when teams know they're selling. Having a player like Duvall capable of stepping in is a tremendous luxury and another reason why Anthopoulos is arguably the best executive in the sport.
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