Ronald Acuña Jr. Roundtable: How his ACL injury changes Braves' fortunes, NL landscape

Ronald Acuña Jr. was hopeful after his knee buckled on him Sunday afternoon that he had avoided the worst. The Braves' steals leader thought about taking third base on a throw back to the pitcher at PNC Park before reconsidering. As he made a quick move retreating back to second base, his left knee planted awkwardly and left him writhing on the ground.

Though the injury didn't feel as serious as it did when he tore his right ACL in July 2021, the devastating results were the same.

The Braves learned Sunday night that, for the second time in less than 36 months, an ACL injury had cut Acuña's season short. As the Braves move forward again without the reigning National League MVP, FOX Sports MLB experts Rowan Kavner and Deesha Thosar react to the startling development in an emergency roundtable.

1. Acuña is such a unique and eminent figure in today's game. What was your immediate reaction to hearing he's out for the year after tearing his ACL a second time?

Thosar: Hard to put into words. Anytime anyone suffers an injury, it's brutal. But when the handful of top athletes in the sport sustain season-ending injuries, it's just plain heartbreaking. No matter what team you support, it's sad to see Acuña go down with his second ACL tear in three years. It's a loss for baseball, let alone an injury-impacted Braves team that has lost seven of their last 11 games. 

Knowing it took him around nine months to recover from the ACL tear on his other knee, the silver lining would be that Acuña could be ready by Opening Day 2025, when he will be in his age-27 season. But we're still missing another year of a young, talented player in the prime of his career. Injuries are the worst.

Kavner: It's crushing, of course for the Braves and for