The Braves have had a miserable year of injuries and underperformance, and even a Ronald Acuna Jr. return isn't enough to make Atlanta feel good about its lineup. According to MLB Trade Rumors, the front office is leaning toward adding bats over arms as the Aug. 3 deadline closes in, even with Acuna nearing an activation that should juice the offense on its own.
MLB Trade Rumors laid out the Braves' deadline posture as Acuna's return draws closer.
It's a notable stance given how banged-up Atlanta's pitching staff has been. The Braves have lost 4 starting pitchers to injury this season, and their rotation has been getting torched to a 5.24 ERA over the last 48 games, with Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach both looking like long shots to pitch again this year. Normally that's the kind of red flag that sends a front office hunting for arms above all else.
But the lineup has its own problems. Austin Riley has been scuffling at .210/.290/.339 with a 29% strikeout rate through 390 plate appearances, and Dominic Smith's bat has cratered over the last 2 months. That's left holes at left field and shortstop that the Braves reportedly want to fill from outside the organization, even with Acuna about to slot back in.
Acuna's absence has been the story of Atlanta's season. He first strained his left hamstring back on May 2, tried to return on May 19, and then reaggravated it less than 3 weeks later on June 9 running out a ground ball, sending him right back to the injured list through the All-Star break. The Braves have been notably cautious this time around since it's the same hamstring, but he's reportedly begun a rehab assignment and could be back early in the second half.
Getting the reigning MVP back into the lineup would normally be the fix-all, but a front office that's watched its offense sputter for months clearly isn't ready to bank on one player solving everything. That's the calculus behind prioritizing bats: even a full-strength Acuna doesn't erase what Riley and Smith have given back at the plate this year.
None of that means Atlanta is ignoring the rotation. With Strider and Schwellenbach both trending toward shutdowns, arms will almost certainly get addressed before the deadline closes. But if MLBTR's read is right, the Braves are triaging the lineup first and figuring the pitching staff can wait a beat longer, a bet that says more about how far this offense has fallen than anything about the health of the rotation.