Every sports franchise has to deal with its fair share of injuries year after year, including the Atlanta Braves who saw two of their most prominent players on the roster go down almost just as the season got underway. Catcher Sean Murphy was sidelined with an oblique injury and pitcher Spencer Strider suffered a season-ending UCL injury following his second start of the season.
Add Austin Riley and recently AJ Smith-Shawver to the list of Braves players to suffer an injury that sidelined them and one would think that things could not get any worse for the 2021 World Series champions.
That would be until Sunday, when the Braves closed out their weekend series with the Pirates with an 8-1 win. The celebration was bittersweet as outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. left the game with what would eventually be confirmed as a left ACL sprain.
“I feel worse for the kid than for us that he’s got to go through this again,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said after learning of Acuna Jr.’s season-ending injury, just a few seasons removed from being sidelined during the 2021 season with a right ACL tear. And while Snitker was full of optimism in regard to Acuna Jr. being able to fully recover from his injury, Drew Butler of The Steakhouse questioned whether or not Snitker’s level of concern should be raised any, if at all.
“When does Brian Snitker get worried,” Butler asked as he and Steak Shapiro reacted to the Acuna Jr. loss. “If Brian Snitker is not worried,” then he himself should not be ok. “He is the type of manager that is very even keel. I think he presents that persona to exemplify how his team should react to things throughout such a long grinding season,” Butler said yet noting that he does question whether the Braves’ manager has to show that there is a level of concern with Acuna Jr. and Strider lost for the season.
“There’s no urgency because the season is so long,” Shapiro added noting that there may not be a lot of sympathy coming the Braves’ way.