Like in '21, Braves' outfield in focus ahead of Deadline

PHILADELPHIA -- The Braves are the only team in the Majors that hasn't lost three straight games this season -- and they've lost two straight just once in the last five and a half weeks.

Yet with less than a week until the Trade Deadline, there's certainly a sense that Atlanta could use a jolt for the stretch run after dropping two of three in Philadelphia. The Braves' 7-2 loss to the Phillies on Wednesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park was their third in the last four games -- a stretch that also included the loss of Adam Duvall to a season-ending left wrist injury.

Atlanta spent the last few days mixing and matching in the outfield, but finding a permanent solution in left field figures to be the club's primary focus ahead of Tuesday's Deadline.

Marcell Ozuna started in left for two of the three games against the Phillies, though the first was against a left-handed starter on Monday and Wednesday's start came with Eddie Rosario spelling Ronald Acuña Jr. in right. Rosario is likely the club's best long-term internal option, though he's largely struggled after missing more than two months while recovering from laser eye surgery.

“If he gets it going or whatever, who knows? Maybe we try him out there all the time,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Rosario. “But right now, he’s just kind of not there yet."

On one hand, Rosario's bat has shown signs of life over the past couple days, as he followed up a 2-for-4 game on Tuesday -- one that also included a stolen base, an RBI and a run scored -- with another two-hit effort in Wednesday's finale. On the other, he's still hitting just .232 with a .581 OPS in 58 plate appearances since his July 4 return.

“He’s had some really good at-bats here recently,” said Austin Riley, whose 18-game hitting streak ended with Wednesday’s 0-for-4 performance. “Seeing him swing it good right now is huge.”

While the last two games are progress, the Braves don't exactly have the benefit of a wait-and-see approach with Tuesday's Deadline looming.

"It'd be easier to do in April. Realistically, where we're at, we're having to win games," Snitker said. "It's not his fault that he missed a bunch of time. ... We know what he can do, but we just have to try to work to get him those reps."

On Wednesday, those reps came in right field, as Snitker opted to give Acuña an extra day of rest heading into Thursday's scheduled off-day. Regardless of how the Braves handle the situation in left field, Acuña simply returning to form in right field would likely provide a bigger boost to Atlanta's offense than any potential trade.

The 24-year-old superstar has been mired in a slump since mid-June. Acuña is hitting just .209 with a .583 OPS over his last 33 games, dropping his season average from .316 through June 11 to its current mark of .259. His OPS has dipped from .950 to .756 in that span.

“At any point in time, he can get those couple of hits and feel good and then get on a run,” Snitker said. “He really hasn’t done that. So when he does, it’s going to be really good -- because he’s going to do it. He’s going to work through this.”

Despite Acuña's struggles, the Braves still went 22-11 during the aforementioned 33-game stretch. It helped that Riley has been arguably the hottest hitter in baseball during that same time span, while Matt Olson has also picked up the slack by homering in seven of his past 12 games (including a two-run shot that provided all the offense in Atlanta's latest loss).

That trio of Acuña, Riley and Olson will be leaned on more in the wake of Duvall's injury, and it's a large reason -- along with the consistency of Dansby Swanson and the emergence of Michael Harris II -- that Snitker insists the Braves are "still a really good team," even after losing the player who was brought in at last year's Trade Deadline to help offset the season-ending injury to Acuña.

That said, could president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos again find an external option to provide a spark?

"He always seems, somehow, to identify guys and pull it off as good as anybody I've ever seen," Snitker said. "I know he's busy making calls and doing all that right now, so we'll see what the end game is."