Ronald Acuña Jr. will have his knee further evaluated, but is still expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. underwent an MRI exam on his sore right knee Friday and the image revealed irritation around his meniscus according to a report by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Acuña played in Thursday’s game but was a late scratch Friday. Acuña will be further evaluated by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Brian Snitker downplayed Acuña’s situation as just general soreness Friday, but the team is right to take every precaution. Acuña tore the ACL in his right knee in 2021 and then struggled with lingering soreness throughout the 2022 season. He returned to full health in 2023 and put together a career-best season on his way to his first MVP Award.

The original thought Friday was that Acuña might return to the lineup as soon as Sunday, but now he will likely miss more time. We will provide updates as they become available.

This isn’t how anybody in Braves Country wanted to kick off the weekend. After being removed from the lineup prior to yesterday’s game, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman has reported that Ronald Acuña Jr has irritation around his meniscus and will undergo further testing on the right knee.

As Bowman notes, the hope is that Acuña can be ready for Opening Day, but there is absolutely no need to rush anything, especially if the MRI reveals something more damning than just irritation.

A meniscus injury, even if it is torn, isn’t the end of the world. It will likely mean Acuña will miss somewhere around 6-8 weeks and that’s in a worst-case scenario. Given Acuña’s injury history, particularly with that right knee, the Braves aren’t going to rush anything.

Hopefully, the reigning NL MVP is ready for Opening Day, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Braves put an emphasis on adding another outfielder very soon in case their worst fears are realized.