What happened to Ronald Acuna Jr.? Why Braves superstar OF is back on IL

What happened to Ronald Acuna Jr.? Why Braves superstar OF is back on IL originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Atlanta Braves have been the best team in Major League Baseball this season, but the season has not been without its problems.

Most notably, the Braves have had to place Ronald Acuna Jr. on the injured list earlier this season, and now, the superstar outfielder is headed back to the IL.

As the Braves announced, Acuna Jr. is landing on the injured list thanks to a hamstring issue, as he’s headed back to the injured list this season.

Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. returns to IL with hamstring issue

“Atlanta today also placed Ronald Acuna Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring and selected INF Rowdy Telez to the major league roster,” the Braves announced.

This is a tough break for the Braves, as they’re losing a core member of the team for the second time in a single season.

While he should still return at some point, it doesn’t change that his absence is going to be felt by the franchise over the next ten-plus days.

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Acuna Jr. sustained this injury running to first on an infield ground-out and was pulled from the game and labeled day-to-day. With the superstar outfielder, placing him on the IL makes sense to avoid making this issue worse.

So far this season, across 53 games played and 195 at-bats, Acuna Jr. has had a .251 batting average with seven homers, 22 RBIs, 10 doubles, one triple, and a .794 OPS.

This is a tough blow for the Braves and Acuna, as for the second time in 2026, in the last month, he’s been placed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain.

It’s an injury worth being a little worried about, especially if he’s not able to fully put this issue behind him and it continues to flare up like it seemingly has.

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