Ronald Acuna Jr. Placed on IL with Achilles Injury After Exiting Braves vs. Royals

The Atlanta Braves have had a rough 2025 season, and they were dealt another blow on Tuesday.

Per MLB.com's Mark Bowman, Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. is going on the injured list after dealing with tightness in his right Achilles against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. Bowman added that Acuña was wearing a walking boot after exiting the game.

"It's an Achilles thing, it's going to take a while," manager Brian Snitker told reporters after a 9-6 loss to the Royals. "He'll go on the IL, and hopefully in 10 days or so it'll clear up."

In the sixth inning, Acuña was trying to track down a foul ball when he appeared to be in pain.

"It was hurting even more," Acuna said through an interpreter. "I was kind of out there hoping they wouldn't hit it my way, and of course any time you do that, they always hit it your way."

He told reporters after the game that he initially felt pain while he was rounding the bases in Monday's win against Kansas City.

"It happened when I scored from first to home on that play," Acuna said through an interpreter. "They are going to examine me tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes."

He added: "It's an injury, I'm worried. It's more pain, but it feels kind of, I feel it a lot when I try to put pressure on it."

Acuña has an unfortunate history with lower-body injuries, as he suffered a pair of torn ACL injuries during his career—one in 2021 and the other last season. Last year's torn ACL kept Acuña out for the first 49 games of the 2025 campaign.

Acuña has been tremendous since making his season debut in May. He's notched 14 home runs and 26 RBI with a .306 batting average and a 1.005 OPS in 55 games, serving as a bright spot in an otherwise bleak season for the Braves.

Tuesday's injury marks his second setback since returning from his ACL rehab. Earlier this month, he dealt with a minor back injury that kept him out of the Home Run Derby. That injury didn't cost him too much time, and he hopes Tuesday's won't either.

The good news for Acuña is that the Braves don't necessarily need him to rush back to the field. Atlanta is sitting at 45-61 on the season, 12.5 games back in the wild card race, so its chances of reaching the postseason are slim even if Acuña is in the lineup.