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A tough season got tougher for the Atlanta Braves on Saturday when Ronald Acuña Jr. was lost for the remainder of the season due to an ACL tear in his right knee. While the Braves must find a way to continue without Acuña, his attention must now be focused on the long road ahead of him to return. Acuña is still with the club in Miami on Sunday and spoke to the media ahead of Sunday’s game and spoke about the injury and his concern for the future.
“I feel bad to be honest right now. When I heard the news, I was really disappointed and sad, ”Acuña said. “One of the reasons is that I love to play and that’s what I want to do. I want to be able to play. I’m really sad and disappointed for the team just because I know they need me and I want to be there for them and I want to help contribute, but I have the utmost confidence in my teammates to come out and to do work. I know they will do very well.
Acuña was preparing for a better career season. In 82 games, he hit .283 / .394 / .596 with 24 homers and 72 runs scored. His 161 wRC + is a career high and he had already racked up 4.0 fWAR. His highest total came in 2019, when he was worth 5.6 fWAR in 156 games, so he was on track to break that number. With 24 home runs and 17 stolen goals, a 30-30 second season seemed like a lock with an outside shot at 40-40.
Acuña said he knew something was wrong as soon as the injury happened and will now focus on his rehabilitation with the aim of coming back stronger than ever.
“I knew something was wrong. I guess I didn’t understand the seriousness of it until the doctor told me later, ”Acuña said. “I can’t do anything about it now. I can’t control the things I can’t control. So the only thing I can say is that I’m obviously going to try hard to come back stronger than ever. If I gave 500% before I started giving 1000%. “
Acuña had been elected to start for the National League in next week’s All-Star Game at Coors Field. He said on Sunday that he still plans to attend the event.
“It means a lot to me,” Acuña said of being elected to start the All-Star Game. “I think the fans who came out and showed their support and voted for me, they deserve it as much as I do. I wouldn’t be here without them.
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