Braves OF Ronald Acuña Jr. to see doctor in LA after MRI showed irritation in knee
Ronald Acuña Jr. will fly to Los Angeles to meet with Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday after an MRI showed irritation to the meniscus in his right knee.
The Atlanta Braves outfielder sustained the injury during a rundown between second and third base in Thursday’s game versus the Minnesota Twins.
“As of this moment – everyone is going to want to know timelines — we expect him to be ready for Opening Day, barring new information or something else,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said Saturday, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Acuña, who remained in the game through the fifth inning, did take part in batting practice and the pregame warmups Friday. He even went as far as telling the Braves he could play in the game.
Eventually, though, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player told Atlanta's staff that he was experiencing soreness, and he was scratched from the lineup. By Friday evening, the Braves sent Acuña in for an MRI, which revealed that there was more to the injury.
Reporters noted that when they saw Acuña on Saturday, he was walking without a noted limp.
Acuña is coming off a year in which he played in all but three of Atlanta's 162 games. It paid off, though, as he became the first 40-70 player — 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases — in MLB history and was rewarded by being named the unanimous NL MVP.
Atlanta is expecting to have a clearer picture on where the 26-year-old stands by Wednesday and how it may or may not impact his availability for the Braves' March 28 opener versus the Philadelphia Phillies.
"Right now we're trying to be optimistic," Braves manager Brian Snitker said on Saturday. "Maybe just a couple of weeks or whatever, just to calm everything down. But honestly, I don't know until we get what the doctor out there says."
