The perfect workforce in baseball shall be with out its largest star for a couple of weeks.
The Braves positioned Ronald Acuña Jr. on the injured listing Sunday with a strained left hamstring. Acuña exited Saturday’s recreation after pulling up in appreciable ache whereas working out a groundout. Supervisor Walt Weiss advised reporters that imaging revealed a Grade 1 pressure, the least extreme grade. In accordance with MLB.com, Weiss stated:
“It’s not going to be only a couple days. It’s gonna be greater than that, so we have to put him on the IL, and hopefully it’ll be ahead of later. No thought with these gentle tissue accidents how lengthy they’re gonna take, however I believe the silver lining is that the MRI confirmed it wasn’t too critical.”
Whereas many gamers return from Grade 1 hamstring strains in only a couple weeks, and even following the 10-day minimal, that is an harm that may linger and delay a return.
That is, clearly, lower than best for the Braves. Acuña is their finest participant and was projected within the preseason because the ninth-best place participant in baseball with 5.4 WAR, in accordance with our Depth Charts. Although his efficiency hasn’t been spectacular to date, with a 111 wRC+ in 152 plate appearances, his .381 xwOBA and 12.2% barrel fee — together with sturdy strikeout and stroll charges — recommend he hasn’t missed a beat this yr, coming off his bounce-back 2025 season.
After all, final yr was a comeback marketing campaign as a result of Acuña missed most 2024 (and the early a part of 2025) after tearing his ACL. He additionally missed chunks of 2021 and 2022 with a torn ACL in his different knee. In 2018, he missed a few month with a gentle ACL sprain. Meaning Acuña’s hamstring pressure is his fourth decrease physique harm requiring IL time in his profession.
You Aren’t a FanGraphs Member
It seems such as you aren’t but a FanGraphs Member (or aren’t logged in). We aren’t mad, simply disillusioned.
We get it. You need to learn this text. However earlier than we allow you to get again to it, we might prefer to level out a couple of of the nice explanation why you must grow to be a Member.
1. Advert Free viewing! We can’t bug you with this advert, or another.
2. Limitless articles! Non-Members solely get to learn 10 free articles a month. Members by no means get lower off.
3. Darkish mode and Basic mode!
4. Customized participant web page dashboards! Select the participant playing cards you need, within the order you need them.
5. One-click knowledge exports! Export our projections and leaderboards to your private tasks.
6. Take away the images on the house web page! (Actually, this does not sound so nice to us, however some folks wished it, and we like to offer our Members what they need.)
7. Much more Steamer projections! We now have handedness, percentile, and context impartial projections out there for Members solely.
8. Get FanGraphs Stroll-Off, a custom-made yr finish assessment! Discover out precisely the way you used FanGraphs this yr, and the way that compares to different Members. Do not be a sufferer of FOMO.
9. A weekly mailbag column, solely for Members.
10. Assist assist FanGraphs and our complete workers! Our Members present us with essential assets to enhance the location and ship new options!
We hope you will take into account a Membership right now, for your self or as a present! And we notice this has been an awfully lengthy gross sales pitch, so we have additionally eliminated all the opposite advertisements on this article. We did not need to overdo it.
To switch Acuña on the lively roster, the Braves referred to as up speedy outfielder José Azocar, who has a 74 wRC+ in elements of 4 seasons within the majors. Azocar doubtless received’t play a bunch, because the Braves are anticipated to platoon Mike Yastrzemski and Eli White in Acuña’s absence. However middle fielder Michael Harris II has missed three of the final 4 video games with a quad harm, so relying on what occurs, Azocar could also be thrust into extra taking part in time than anticipated.
The Braves have handled a rash of accidents within the early season, largely of their pitching workers. They did get a key piece again on Sunday, when Spencer Strider returned from an indirect harm (although his outing didn’t go significantly effectively). However with Acuña out, the Braves have 12 gamers on the IL.
Nonetheless, the beginning of the season has been nothing wanting an incredible success for Atlanta, as Jay Jaffe outlined final week. At 25-10, the Braves not solely boast one of the best report within the majors, additionally they have one of the best run differential. Whereas a quick Acuña absence would possibly pose a problem, they sit comfortably atop the NL East.
Cal Raleigh, Ben Rice Sit for a Bit
The Braves head to Seattle on Monday to face the Mariners, who might or will not be with out one in every of their high gamers.
Cal Raleigh was a late scratch for Saturday’s recreation with what was described as “common soreness.” Earlier than Sunday’s recreation, he advised reporters he was coping with a little bit of ache in his core. The problem started Friday, although he stated there wasn’t essentially a selected play that triggered it. Up to now, Raleigh has not been positioned on the injured listing; the Mariners referred to as up catcher Jhonny Pereda in the meanwhile.
After struggling out the gate in 2026, Raleigh has picked it up with 5 homers over his final 10 video games. Not like the Braves, the Mariners aren’t fairly ready to merely keep afloat with out one in every of their high gamers. They entered the season as favorites within the American League by our Playoff Odds, however after getting swept by the Royals, they sit at 16-19. The excellent news for the Mariners is the remainder of the AL West stays uninspired, and we nonetheless give them the second-best odds within the AL to win the World Collection. However as I famous within the preseason, Seattle’s success depends fairly a bit on Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez being wholesome and productive.
Leap-frogging the Mariners for one of the best odds to win the American League are the Yankees, who additionally occur to have a star slugger quickly sidelined. Ben Rice is listed as day-to-day with a bruise on his hand. The harm occurred whereas receiving a pickoff try from Max Fried within the third inning on Sunday. The ball appeared to catch him awkwardly sq. within the palm, the place the padding on his glove is sort of skinny.
Earlier than the harm, Rice smacked his twelfth homer of the yr within the first inning. After the harm, he hit a popup that landed in no-man’s land for a double within the fourth. He was eliminated when the Yankees took the sphere within the fifth. The 2 extra-base hits gave him a serious league-leading 224 wRC+.
Aces Down
A trio of high pitchers additionally went down over the weekend.
Twins ace Joe Ryan left Sunday’s begin with elbow soreness after dealing with simply two batters. He struck out the primary, walked the second, then signaled to the bench.
Ryan’s fastball velocity has been down to start the season, from 93.7 mph final yr to 92.6 mph. That drop hasn’t appeared to have an effect on him a lot, as he’d entered the day with a 2.99 FIP in seven begins, making him one of many high 15 starters by WAR. The final fastball he threw Sunday, nonetheless, was at 90.9 mph.
It’s unclear the extent of the harm, although it’s presumed to require a visit to the IL on the minimal. Ryan will get imaging this week. If he returns wholesome, he’s anticipated to be some of the sought-after gamers on the commerce deadline.
Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski was faraway from his begin on Friday with a hamstring harm. He’d thrown 5 1/3 hitless innings with eight strikeouts towards the Nationals. He’d additionally unleashed 43 pitches 100 mph or quicker, simply 4 shy of Hunter Greene’s single-game report of 47. After which he threw a 98.9-mph fastball earlier than leaving the sport with trainers.
Misiorowski stated he felt the discomfort from the beginning of the sixth inning. Per the Related Press:
“Most likely concerning the final warmup pitch after which that complete first batter I had it,” Misiorowski stated. “It didn’t actually get horrible till that first pitch to [James] Wooden, after which it actually grabbed. A type of issues.”
Misiorowski isn’t set to have any imaging performed, and the Brewers consider he prevented critical harm. He’s day-to-day.
Purple Sox lefty Ranger Suarez additionally hopes to have prevented a critical hamstring harm. He exited his begin Sunday after the fourth inning, together with his pitch rely at 70. Suarez was throwing a shutout and cruising via the Astros lineup, then merely didn’t return to the mound to start the fifth.
He stated after the sport it was tightness in his proper hamstring. He additionally missed time in 2023 with a proper hamstring harm, although he stated this time feels completely different. He’s optimistic he received’t should be positioned on the IL.
The Purple Sox actually hope that’s the case. They entered the season with the most effective rotations within the majors and have since misplaced their high two starters in Garrett Crochet (shoulder irritation) and Sonny Grey (hamstring pressure). Grey is anticipated to return after a minimal keep on the IL, however dropping any extra time from their frontline starters will make climbing out of their gap within the AL East harder.
Veteran Starters on the Shelf
The Brewers positioned Brandon Woodruff on the injured listing with shoulder irritation on Friday, a day after he left his begin within the second inning, together with his fastball averaging simply 85 mph — greater than 7 mph beneath his common from final yr. He advised reporters there’s nothing structurally flawed together with his shoulder and expects a minimal keep on the IL.
The Angels positioned Yusei Kikuchi on the injured listing Sunday with shoulder irritation, stemming from his begin Wednesday, which he exited after simply two innings. His 3.73 FIP (regardless of a 5.81 ERA) to this point this yr is an enchancment from his first season in Anaheim, serving to the Angels boast a shocking top-five beginning rotation by WAR to this point in 2026. The workforce has not but supplied a timeline for his return.
Editor’s notice: This story was filed earlier than information broke that two-time Cy Younger winner Tarik Skubal will endure surgical procedure in his left elbow to take away unfastened our bodies. We shall be protecting that harm is a separate piece on Tuesday.