30-07-2025
Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. leaves game with Achilles injury
KANSAS CITY — The Braves' hellish season took yet another painful turn Tuesday when Ronald Acuña Jr. left the game in the sixth inning with right Achilles soreness that will land him on the 10-day injured list.
Acuña is scheduled to fly back to Atlanta on Wednesday for an MRI to rule out anything more serious. He was seen wearing a protective boot after the game.
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The Braves and their star right fielder hope that it's only tightness — the preliminary diagnosis after a team doctor examined him briefly at Kauffman Stadium. When asked if he was worried, Acuña said through an interpreter, 'Yeah, of course. I mean, it's an injury. I'm worried.'
Acuña said he didn't feel a pop, and he was able to jog off the field under his own power when manager Brian Snitker replaced him with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, after noticing Acuña was slow to pursue a foul ball in the right-field corner, followed by a double to the left-center gap moments later.
'It's more pain,' Acuña said, rather than the pop and subsequent agony typically associated with a ruptured Achilles. 'But I feel it a lot when I try to put pressure on it.'
Ronald Acuña Jr. was removed from tonight's game in the middle of the 6th inning with right achilles tightness. He jogged off the field under his own power
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 30, 2025
Acuña said he tweaked the Achilles in Monday's series opener at Kansas City while scoring from first base on Austin Riley's eighth-inning double, but thought he could play through it. He told the training staff he wanted to play Tuesday, even after they told him he could take the day off.
'I've just missed so much time already through injuries, I don't want to miss any more time,' said Acuña, adding that the injury worsened in Tuesday's game, especially in the sixth inning while pursuing the fly balls Snitker referred to.
The Braves have dealt with pitching injuries and slumping position players all season, and Acuña has been one of the few bright spots for a team that's 45-61, well out of playoff contention for weeks, even if not yet mathematically eliminated. Their entire Opening Day starting rotation is on the 60-day IL.
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'It's just one of them things that — you just deal with it,' Snitker said. 'It's not fun dealing with it, it's not easy dealing with, but you just have to.'
Initially, Acuña waved his finger when Snitker sent Eli White out to replace him, signaling that he wanted to continue playing.
But as White neared him, Acuña began his slow jog to the dugout, then walked with the team's head trainer to the clubhouse.
Acuña, the 2023 National League MVP and a five-time All-Star, missed the Braves' first 49 games this season while completing a year-long rehab from ACL surgery on his left knee.
That was the second ACL surgery for Acuña, who tore his right ACL in July 2021. He returned to the lineup in less than 10 months after that surgery and dealt with residual soreness throughout the 2022 season.
This time, doctors and trainers laid out a slower, more conservative approach to his ACL rehab, and Acuña has had no significant issues with his legs since being activated from the IL on May 23. He has missed only one game due to injury — because of low-back soreness after feeling a twinge during a pregame workout on July 8 in Sacramento.
He rejoined the lineup the next day and has played in all but three Braves games since coming off the IL. He's hit .306 with 24 extra-base hits (14 home runs) and a 1.006 OPS in 55 games.
Acuña was voted to start in the All-Star game, leading all NL outfielders in fan voting despite missing the first eight weeks of the season.
