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Buster Olney, ESPN Senior Author
When Ronald Acuna Jr. blew out his proper knee on July 10, 2021, Alex Anthopoulos felt compelled to reply shortly.
The Braves’ head of baseball operations needed to ship a message to the Atlanta gamers that the season was not misplaced — that the entrance workplace and the workforce ought to each proceed to combat. So 5 days later, Anthopoulos traded for veteran outfielder Joc Pederson and catcher Stephen Vogt, and earlier than the top of the summer season, he’d add three extra outfielders — Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler. The Braves would go on to win the World Sequence that fall, with these midseason additions contributing considerably.
Now Acuna has suffered one other anterior cruciate ligament damage, to his different knee, and once more he’s out for the season.
The Braves’ scenario will not be almost as dire because it was when Acuna was harm in ’21 — then, Atlanta was struggling to play .500 ball, and did not have almost as deep of a roster because it does now. However this time, the workforce has to maneuver forward not solely with out the reigning Nationwide League MVP, but additionally with out its most dominant pitcher, Spencer Strider, who suffered a season-ending elbow damage on the outset of the season.
The early success (and good well being) of Chris Sale has helped to plug the outlet created by Strider’s damage. However the Braves’ offense — which had already been in an early funk after setting information for residence runs final 12 months — will want heroes to emerge within the lineup.
It may be third baseman Austin Riley, who is anticipated to return quickly from a minor again damage suffered a few weeks in the past. At that time, Riley had felt that he was nearly to emerge from an early-season hunch. “I’m this shut,” stated Riley, holding his index and thumb millimeters aside, as he described how he felt on the plate.
Perhaps it will be Braves heart fielder Michael Harris II, who is aware of what it means to dig out of a hunch. Final 12 months, Harris was activated off the injured listing with out taking at-bats within the minors as a result of the employees felt his protection was so vital — and for six weeks, he struggled mightily on the plate. However in his final 100 video games, Harris batted .335 with 63 runs, 16 residence runs and 15 stolen bases. He may very well be a pure candidate to ascend into the leadoff spot.
All-Star catcher Sean Murphy, too, was simply activated after lacking a lot of the previous two months with a rib cage damage. First baseman Matt Olson has already begun to work his method out of a sluggish begin, batting .290 with 5 homers in his previous 16 video games. By means of his April struggles, Olson had really generated hard-hit charges that have been in keeping with what he produced final 12 months, however he didn’t have the outcomes to point out for it. His teammates felt he had been the sufferer of some dangerous BABIP luck.
Many pointed to a sport towards the Pink Sox on Could 8: Olson scorched a line drive towards left area that Boston third baseman Rafael Devers rose to barely spear. Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer might see Olson’s shoulders sag with frustration on the sight of one more intercepted line drive.
However Devers could not maintain the ball, and Olson obtained successful. Earlier than the following sport, Seitzer spoke to Olson about his response to Devers’ temporary interception. When Olson’s shoulders dropped, Seitzer stated, it was like he might see that misfortune weighing down the All-Star first baseman. Seitzer instructed Olson there was no sense clinging to that frustration, as a result of these early-season at-bats have been behind him, and he could not change the consequence.
“So far as I am involved, the season begins for you right now,” Seitzer stated. Hours later, after Olson had clubbed a house run in a series-opening win over the Mets, Seitzer greeted Olson within the handshake line and punctuated his earlier remarks: “Have an amazing season.”
Perhaps the Braves will get a lift from Ozzie Albies, or Jarred Kelenic, the gifted younger outfielder who has swung nicely in his first season with the Braves. Perhaps Duvall, signed late in spring coaching, will benefit from the extra taking part in time he’ll get. Perhaps Marcell Ozuna will proceed to hold the offense, as he has for lots of this season.
“He may be the perfect hitter in baseball proper now,” Cubs supervisor Craig Counsell stated Sunday as he described a plate look that Ozuna had towards his workforce.
And it is a certainty that Anthopoulos, reflexively proactive, will scan the commerce market and search for alternatives to improve, even at a time when his farm system is thinner than that of different contenders. Anthopoulos sometimes holds some spending flexibility in reserve, and inevitably, different groups will look to dump expensive veterans as they fall out of the race. Sellers will develop, and outfielders will turn into accessible. Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader, Mark Canha, Starling Marte, Tommy Pham, Rosario (once more) and Kevin Kiermaier are among the many gamers on short-term offers who may very well be moved this 12 months if their respective groups fall out of rivalry.
Braves supervisor Brian Snitker talked earlier this 12 months concerning the workforce’s offensive issues and talked about a trait he sees within the collective mindset of the workforce. “These guys is not going to panic,” he stated. “They may by no means panic. Three years in the past, we misplaced Acuna, and these guys simply saved going.”
Three years in the past, they gained the World Sequence with out him.
Now the Braves must attempt to do this once more.
