Acuña hits injured list with left hamstring strain

CHICAGO -- Less than 24 hours after Ronald Acuña Jr. expressed optimism that his latest injury scare wasn't serious, the Braves were forced to make a move they had hoped to avoid.

Atlanta placed Acuña on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain prior to the Braves' 2-1 loss on Wednesday, the day after the former National League MVP exited a 6-5, 10-inning loss to the White Sox after injuring himself while running out a ground ball. The move marks Acuña's second stint on the injured list this season, both due to the same hamstring.

"Grade 1, so it's not terrible, but enough where we had to IL him," manager Walt Weiss said before Wednesday's series finale at Rate Field. "We'd be waiting around a while, playing shorthanded if we were waiting for it to heal. So we went ahead and put him on the IL.

"Like I said, I don't think it's as severe as the last one, but still going to need some time."

The decision came after an MRI Wednesday morning confirmed the strain.

On Tuesday night, both Acuña and Weiss sounded cautiously optimistic that the injury would not require another trip to the injured list. Acuña described the hamstring as feeling "tight" rather than painful and said it felt less severe than the strain that sidelined him from May 3-18.

The Braves ultimately determined otherwise.

"It's frustrating," Weiss said. "It's frustrating for any athlete that gets injured. It's all part of it. Unfortunately Ronald has had to deal with it more than his fair share."

The injury occurred in the fourth inning of Tuesday's game. Acuña grounded a ball to third baseman Miguel Vargas and appeared to feel discomfort just before reaching first base. He continued several steps into foul territory in right field before slowly making his way back toward the dugout, slamming his helmet in frustration and disappearing into the tunnel.

For anyone who has followed Acuña's career, the scene felt all too familiar.

The 27-year-old has spent much of the past five seasons battling lower-body injuries. A torn right ACL ended his 2021 season. A torn left ACL cut short his 2024 campaign. And at the beginning of May this year, a Grade 1 strain in the same left hamstring sent him to the injured list for just over two weeks.

Now, after appearing in only 19 games since returning from that injury on May 19, he'll once again be sidelined.

Exactly how long remains unclear.

"It's tough to say sitting here today," Weiss said when asked whether this absence could be shorter than the previous one. "I wouldn't promise that. Even a mild hamstring can take that long."

The Braves recalled Rowdy Tellez to take Acuña's roster spot and designated Jhancarlos Lara for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

While losing Acuña is never ideal, Atlanta has shown an ability to weather his absence before. The Braves went 8-6 during his previous IL stint and entered Wednesday with the best record in baseball despite a season that has already featured multiple significant injuries.

Still, replacing Acuña is impossible.

Even in what many would consider a "down" season by his standards, Acuña was slashing .251/.373/.421 with seven home runs, 15 stolen bases and a .794 OPS while serving as the catalyst atop one of baseball's most dangerous lineups.

The Braves believe this injury is less severe than the one that sidelined him last month. Now they'll wait to see whether the recovery timeline follows a similar path.