Braves fans everywhere are holding their collective breath for an update on star player Ronald Acuña Jr. The right fielder was removed from Tuesday night's game and immediately placed on the 10-day IL with what the club is officially calling right Achilles tendon inflammation. Acuña Jr. is set to return to Atlanta on Wednesday to get an MRI so that the club can determine the severity of the injury.
The corresponding roster move for Atlanta is bringing back Jarred Kelenic who will likely just be on the bench while the majority of starts go to Eli White during Acuña Jr.'s absence. Carlos Rodriguez is the other outfielder on the 40-man roster who could have been called up, and his numbers in Triple-A are better than Kelenic's. However, it's clear the Braves want to avoid calling up Rodriguez in 2025.
The #Braves today recalled OF Jarred Kelenic to Atlanta and placed OF Ronald Acuña Jr. on the 10-day injured list with right Achilles tendon inflammation.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 30, 2025
Braves recall Jared Kelenic in wake of Acuña Jr. injury
Replacing the production Ronald Acuña Jr. provides at the plate is simply impossible. In just 55 games played this season Acuña has a .306/.429/.577 slash line, 179 wRC+, and 2.6 fWAR a mark that is second highest on the team trailing only Matt Olson.
Kelenic has been playing nearly everyday with Triple-A Gwinnett since his late April demotion. He appeared in 23 games with the Braves this season, and really struggled posting just a .531 OPS. His results with the Stripers weren't much better as Kelenic posted a .217/.289/.322 slash line in over 300 plate appearances on the season.
Instead, the majority of the playing time will likely go to Eli White who has served as Atlanta's fourth outfielder since the return of Jurickson Profar. Normally with the timing of an injury like this, Alex Anthopoulos would pivot with a trade to replace Acuña Jr., but given how far out of contention the Braves are fielding a winning club isn't a top priority. Unfortunately. the Braves are realizing later than they should that keeping their stars healthy should be the main goal for the rest of 2025.