For the second time in the last four seasons, Alex Anthopoulos is faced with the nearly impossible task of replacing the reining NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr, who suffered a torn ACL on Sunday afternoon.
Of course, the last time this happened, the Braves went on to win the World Series, thanks to a series of trades that resulted in the acquisitions of Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, and Adam Duvall. It was magical, and Anthopoulos will likely have to operate similarly in the next couple of months if the Braves want to have any chance of hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy this October.
However, making moves this far away from the trade deadline isn’t easy. There aren’t many clubs trying to sell, and even the ones that may consider it are likely to wait closer to the trade deadline to incite a bidding war amongst competitive teams. The Braves have to make do with what they have, and the plan for now is to start Adam Duvall and Jarred Kelenic everyday.
The Braves are going to use Kelenic (LF) and Duvall (RF) as their every-day outfielders.
— Gabe Burns (@GabeBurnsAJC) May 27, 2024
This is the most logical solution. Kelenic and Duvall are very good defensively; however, they’ve each left a bit to be desired offensively. Hopefully, getting everyday at-bats will help them find a groove, but if they continue to struggle with the stick, the Braves may need to find different answers.
The recently called up J.P. Martinez could get some opportunities. Forrest Wall is also an option in Gwinnett, but one of the more intriguing options is using Marcell Ozuna in the field. He hasn’t done that in years, and it surely won’t look pretty, but it would allow for Travis d’Arnaud, Sean Murphy, and Marcell Ozuna to be in the lineup at the same time. Offensively, that’s the best case scenario, but I imagine it will be a last resort because of how abysmal Ozuna is in the field.
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Photographer: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
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