Ronald Acuña Jr. is avoiding a serious knee injury and is expected to be ready for Opening Day

There was a collective sigh of relief from the Atlanta Braves, their fans and star Ronald Acuña Jr., after Dr. Neil El Attrache confirmed the team physician's diagnosis of an irritated meniscus in Acuña's right knee, rather than anything more serious that might require surgery. For the National League MVP.

The Braves said Tuesday that Acuña will gradually increase baseball activities and is expected to be ready for Opening Day. The Braves open the season March 28 in Philadelphia against their NL East rival Phillies, who beat the Braves in a four-game NL Division Series in October for the second straight year.

After experiencing pain in his surgically repaired right knee on Friday, likely stemming from the extended rundown Acuña engaged in during Thursday's spring training game, the right-hander was scratched from the lineup on Friday and underwent an MRI that showed meniscus irritation. .

To be sure, and for peace of mind for all parties involved, the Braves have decided that their dynamic slugger and 2023 MLB stolen bases leader will travel to Los Angeles to be examined by El Attrash, the surgeon who repaired the torn ACL in Acuña's knee. In July 2021.

That was a season-ending injury and surgery that spoiled Acuña's MVP-caliber start to the 2021 season. When pain and inflammation persisted through his first season after returning from surgery in 2022, necessitating occasional time off and drainage of fluid from the knee, there were questions about how long Acuña might have before Whether Acuña returns to his full potential before the injury, or whether the problem may continue to affect him in the future.

But in 2023, Acuña wasn't as good as he was before the surgery, he was better. Much better. In fact, it's been pretty good historically. The Braves led the majors in nearly every major offensive category in 2023, and Acuña was their star.

He became the fifth member of the 40-40 club (40 home runs and 40 stolen bases) and much more, becoming the first player to have 40-50, 40-60 and finally 40-70 seasons. Acuña finished with 41 homers and a career-leading 73 stolen bases while batting .337 with an MLB-best .416 on-base percentage and an NL-leading 1.012 OPS.

There was understandable concern when Acuña was flown across the country over the weekend to get a second opinion on his knee. Manager Brian Snitker said Saturday that he was trying to remain optimistic, but until Acuña is examined by Al-Atrash, the Braves won't know for sure.

If El-Atrache found something worse than the original diagnosis, such as a torn meniscus that might require arthroscopic surgery, there was a possibility Acuña would miss the early part of the season. If that causes him to fall behind, it is unknown how long it might take him to get back to full speed after returning from a stint on the injured list.

The Braves probably needed to add a proven outfielder if Acuña needed an IL assignment to start the season.

But that didn't happen, and the Braves and their fans, as well as other fans of the hugely popular Acuña team, felt much better Tuesday morning. Meniscus irritation can heal without any form of surgery.

There have been a lot of positive developments for the Braves in the first weeks of spring training – the good health and strong start of veteran newcomer Chris Sale; Powerful new curveball unveiled by MLB strikeout leader Spencer Stryder; An impressive comeback showing by reliever Ken Giles; Improving outfielder Forrest Wall and impressive first outings for power-hitting infielders AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep.

But nothing has been more important for the Braves so far this spring than a medical update on Acuña.