The Atlanta Braves must replace one of baseball’s top players for the second time in three years.
Ronald Acuña Jr., the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, is sidelined for the season due to a ruptured ACL, his second such injury in the previous three years. Acuña Jr. missed half of 2021 and early 2022 due to his first ACL injury, sustained in July 2021. He will now miss the rest of 2024 and, most likely, the beginning of 2025.
This is a tremendous blow to the Braves, who had World Series dreams year after year. To win again in 2024, they must repeat their 2021 victory sans Acuña.
In 2021, when Acuña tore his ACL, the Braves rapidly acquired replacements. The club added four outfielders before the trade deadline: Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, and Adam Duvall.
All four outfielders were critical to the Braves’ World Series success. Rosario even earned the NLCS MVP title, while Soler took home the World Series MVP.
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The Braves presently have three outfielders on the roster: Duvall, Michael Harris II, and Jarred Kelenic, but they may search for more help before the deadline to try to recreate their success from 2021 — and they have already begun.
On Wednesday, the Braves signed Ramón Laureano, a journeyman outfielder who was assigned for assignment and later released by the Cleveland Guardians. They signed him to a minor league contract, according to the team’s transaction record.
Laureano, 29, is a seven-year MLB veteran who formerly played for the Oakland Athletics and the Guardians. He has a career.242 batting average and a.740 OPS, but has struggled this season, hitting only.143 with an OPS of.494.
However, Laureano’s history has shown him to be an above-average MLB outfielder, so a change of environment may be just what he needs.
Laureano has a lifetime OPS+ of 106, which means he has been 6% above the league average as a hitter. His greatest season came in 2019, when he hit.288/.340/.521 with 24 home runs, 67 RBI, and an OPS of.860 in 123 games.
While Laureano is currently only in the minor leagues, he will push for a position on the MLB squad. While Laureano is doing that, the squad is expected to spy their next moves as they attempt to replace the irreplaceable Ronald Acuña Jr.
