Braves Snitker Made Right Call Removing Acuña in Loss to Phillies

The Atlanta Braves have gotten the best-case scenario out of an Acuña return so far, and there's zero reason to risk losing it

Zero reason to risk it with him | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Ronald Acuña Jr. didn't have to ride out the entire 13-0 loss to the Phillies on Friday. Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker opted to sub him out for Stuart Fairchild in the middle innings as the rain continued to come down and the runs continued to mount.

Fairchild pinch hit for Acuña in the bottom of the fifth inning after a single at-bat in the game. Acuña grounded out to short in the lone trip to the plate.

Seeing Acuña pinch hit for in the game probably raised some eyebrows. Some probably got concerned that something was wrong. It wasn't. Snitker said that Acuña was just fine after the game, and he's just playing it safe.

"I didn't want to take a chance," Snitker said. "He's been playing every day, too. That wasn't why. It was more out of precaution, but it won't do him any hard to not be in there in those conditions."

It was the right call. Even if the fact that he's playing every day isn't the reason why, it's a good reason. The Braves have gotten him back immediately and contributing day in and day out. One thing goes wrong during a slippery ballgame, and they don't have him available for every game anymore.

Acuña is returning from his second ACL repair in his career and has had one in each knee. He worked hard to do everything right in his recovery, and it paid off. He's batting .366 with a 1.134 OPS with nine home runs and 18 RBIs. Those numbers might not be sustainable for over 100 games, but he can't play at that level if he's fully healthy.

Even a slight tweak could have his production dip. That's the last thing Snitker needs while the rest of the lineup can't get anything done consistently. The team is down by more than 10 runs and isn't scoring any runs in response. Bite the bullet and get ready for Saturday.