For the second time in four seasons, the Atlanta Braves have lost outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. to a torn ACL. The first time it happened in 2021, the Braves knuckled down at the MLB trade deadline and swung a few big deals to propel them to a World Series title. Apparently, they are going to attempt to do the same thing this year.
Atlanta was able to land four outfielders in the former instance, acquiring Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario and Adam Duvall. While the Braves probably won't be digging that deep over the month-and-a-half, they may try for one or two outfielders while also potentially trying to trade for a back-end-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, via Jim Bowden of The Athletic.
The Braves have been struggling, as they are 35-28 and sit nine games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East. However, while the division may be slipping away, Atlanta is currently holding the top Wild Card spot in the National League and has a comfortable lead.
Since losing Acuna on May 26, the Braves have lost eight of their last 13 games. They have also gone just 9-15 since they were 26-13 on May 14.
The Braves could certainly use some bats
Last season, the Braves were an offensive juggernaut. They led the majors in batting average, OPS, home runs and runs scored. So, basically, they were the best offense in baseball, and it wasn't even particularly close.
This year, however, it has been a different story.
Outside of Marcell Ozuna, who has been lighting it up with a .312/.383/.603 slash line with 18 homers 139 and 55 RBI, Atlanta's offense has been pedestrian, at best. The Braves are 13th in batting average, 11th in OPS, 17th in homers and 18th in runs scores in 2024.
This is a direct result of incredibly disappointing seasons from the likes of Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley, all of whom have seen dramatic dips in production from last year.
Olson, for example, slashed .283/.389/.604 while leading the bigs with 54 long balls and 139 RBI in 2023. But, through 266 plate appearances this season, Olson is slashing a comparatively meager .239/.323/.427 with nine dingers and 34 RBI.
Albies registered an OPS of .849 with smashing 33 homers and driving in 109 runs last season. This year, he owns a .725 OPS and has just four home runs. Meanwhile, Riley may be the worst of the bunch. After slashing .281/.345/.516 with 37 long balls a year ago, he lays claim to a paltry .648 OPS while homering just three times in 2024.
Ozuna is the only Braves player with an OPS of .800 or better. The next-best OPS after Ozuna is catcher Travis d'Arnaud (.765).
As you can see, Atlanta absolutely needs to add some bats between now and the deadline, especially with Acuna sidelined (although he only owned a .716 OPS himself). Of course, the Braves can also hope that some of their top hitters revert to their usual numbers, but given that we are already in mid-June, that could be a fairly risky strategy.
Chances are, we will see Atlanta try to do something between now and the July 30 trade deadline.
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