The National League Most Valuable Player Award winner, outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., of the Atlanta Braves, stated on Sunday night that he will miss the rest of the 2024 season due to a total tear of his ACL.
Acuña hurt himself trying to change direction while sprinting the bases on Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
This is the third time in his career that an ACL injury has kept him out of action; the first two were in 2018 for a month and 2021–2022, respectively, for a much longer period of time.
The Braves don’t have many excellent internal choices, and as of Monday they are six games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East.
Adam Duvall is a member of their 40-man roster, while J.P. Martínez, who was recalled on Monday, Forest Wall, and Luke Williams are outfield veterans who are stationed at Triple-A.
Therefore, it becomes sense to assume that they will be searching for outside assistance in the days leading up to Major League Baseball’s July 30 trade deadline.
Who may the Braves want to target? Let’s examine five initial contenders for names. Remember that there is still a long way to go until the crazy season starts, and that this is more of an art than a science.
(In addition, there is no specific sequence in which the players are portrayed.)
1. Tommy Pham, White Sox of Chicago
The humble White Sox signed Pham with the intention of trading him at the deadline, let’s face it.
He didn’t play until the end of April, but in his 32 games, he has looked good. In fact, in 137 plate appearances, he had a batting average of.313/.358/.445 with three home runs.
Despite turning 36 in March, he still has the ability to charge the ball, as seen by his average exit velocity of over 90 mph this year.
In the last two deadlines, Pham has been traded. We firmly anticipate that before the calendar turns to August, the streak will reach three.
2. Los Angeles Angels’ Taylor Ward
Since Perry Minasian worked in Atlanta before to taking over the Angels, he is highly familiar with the main players in the Braves front office.
Unfortunately for Minasian, that day for his Angels team is still a few years off. Ward, who turned 30 in December and will be eligible for free agency following the 2026 season, has no compelling reason to stay.
With 52 games played so far this season, Ward has hit.274/.330/.483, putting him on pace for one of his greatest seasons to date.
3. Oakland Athletics’ Brent Rooker
Come November, Rooker, 30, defeated Quad-A labels to earn a spot in the All-Star Game of the previous season.
This season, he is off to yet another fast start, having hit.286/.368/.565 with 11 home runs in his first 42 games. The Athletics should find it easier to part with Rooker before the deadline because of his boom-or-bust profile, which might go south in any given year.
Even this season, he is striking out in about 33% of his plate appearances. Furthermore, the A’s have shown little concern for their on-field product prior to their summer move to Sacramento.
4. Bryan De La Cruz, Marlins of Miami
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Luis Arraez was traded to the San Diego Padres by the Marlins, who had previously declared their openness for business for the summer under the leadership of new senior baseball executive Peter Bendix.
Why end it there? De La Cruz’s ability to affect the baseball has made him a breakthrough potential for several years. Unfortunately, since his rookie season, he has primarily been a league-average batter.
The Braves may believe they can get more out of De La Cruz before he becomes a free agent in the winter of 2027. If so, there could be a chance for an intra-divisional transaction between former rivals.
5. The Washington Nationals’ Jesse Winker
Similar to how they signed Pham, the Nationals planned to trade for Winker before the deadline. After two poor seasons in a row, he has rebounded to hit.264/.379/.455 against right-handed pitchers.
Naturally, there’s a reason we’re included a split: if the Braves (or whoever hires him come August) want to get the most out of Winker, who struggles against southpaws, they’ll need a platoon partner.
Given that the Braves already go to considerable measures to prevent Jarred Kelenic from facing same-handed pitching, it might make him less appealing to them.
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