For the second time in his MLB career, Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. has suffered a torn ACL.

The 2023 NL MVP tore his left ACL earlier this week when he attempted to steal third base in a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Acuna also tore his right ACL back in 2021.

When asked if he were “unlucky” after sustaining the second such injury, Acuna had an interesting answer, via Barrett Sallee of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Acuna added that his surgery is set for next Tuesday.

The 26-year-old was in the midst of a disappointing season before the injury, as he had been slashing .250/.351/.365 with four home runs and 15 RBI over 222 plate appearances.

The Braves have won without Ronald Acuna Jr. before

Oddly enough, the Braves actually went on to win the World Series after Acuna tore his ACL in 2021.

Acuna had played 82 games before going down in 2021, and the Braves ended up going 88-73 and ultimately defeating the Houston Astros in the World Series.

Of course, that Atlanta squad was loaded with consistent hitters in addition to strong pitching. The same thing cannot be said for this current iteration of the Braves, however.

Outside of Marcell Ozuna, who boasts a .994 OPS, Atlanta's lineup has struggled. Four of the Braves' regular hitters have an OPS below .700, and other than Ozuna, only catcher Travis d'Arnaud has an OPS of .800 or better out of the starters. Even Matt Olson, who led the league with 54 homers and 139 RBI last year, has struggled, posting a slash line of .237/.324/.434.

Atlanta's offensive struggles have been reflected in its performance in the standings, as the Braves sit six games behind the Philadelphia Phillies (four in the loss column) of first place in the NL East. The Braves are 31-22, so they are still very much in the race, but there are problems with this squad that didn't seem to exist during the regular season in 2023 when the Braves won 104 games.

Needless to say, Atlanta will probably miss Acuna much more this time around than it did in 2021.

That Braves squad had a very consistent Freddie Freeman at first base, not to mention numerous other power hitters like Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson.

Riley and Albies are still on the roster in 2024, but they have severely underperformed.

The good news for Atlanta is that things are probably bound to change. Olson, Riley and Albies will all probably move closer to their career averages as the season progresses, and in the meantime, the Braves can fall back on their impressive starting pitching.

Acuna boasts a lifetime slash line of .289/.379/.525. He had the best year of his career last season, when he slashed .337/.416/.596 with 41 long balls and 106 RBI. He also stole a league-leading 73 bases, so it's no surprise he was awarded with an MVP.

The 26-year-old was originally signed by the Braves as an international free agent in July 2014. He made his big-league debut in 2018 and slashed .293/.366/.552 with 26 dingers and 64 RBI across 487 trips to the dish. He went on to smash 41 homers the following year.