Acuña goes on IL with left wrist inflammation

The Braves' hopes for the imminent return of Ronald Acuña Jr. proved too optimistic, as they opted to place the outfielder on the 10-day injured list with left wrist inflammation.

Members of the Braves’ medical staff evaluated Acuña on Saturday in Atlanta and determined he will need more than two additional days of rest. But there is now hope the 22-year-old All-Star will be back in Atlanta’s lineup on Friday, when he’ll be eligible to be activated from the injured list.

This transaction was backdated to Tuesday, which is when Acuña first informed the Braves of the wrist discomfort.

“There’s no reason to push anything like that,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “You need your hands and wrist to be effective. We don’t want him altering any other parts of his game. We’re just going to make sure we get that cleared up and then he’ll be ready to go the rest of the time.”

Acuña has not played since feeling the discomfort in his left wrist shortly before Tuesday night’s series opener against the Yankees. He doesn’t know exactly when he injured his wrist, but he believes he may have done it when diving back to a base recently.

Acuña hit three home runs in last Sunday’s doubleheader sweep in Philadelphia, and he has produced a 1.306 OPS through his first 10 games in August. There had been some hope he’d be ready to play Monday after resting throughout this weekend, but that plan was nixed when he was still feeling sore on Saturday.

“It’s not a setback,” Snitker said. “We just didn’t know how he was going to respond. The best-case scenario was he would have been ready on Monday. But he’s still sore, and there’s no need to push him.

Acuña’s ailment just adds to the injury woes the Braves have dealt with during the season’s first few weeks. Ozzie Albies has been sidelined since Aug. 6 with a right wrist bone contusion, and Mike Soroka was lost for the season when he tore his right Achilles tendon on Aug. 3.

Asked about how he’s often said that good things await those who stay determined and committed through tough times, Snitker chuckled.

“I don’t know if I meant like this,” Snitker said. “But I still believe that. I don’t care if you play 60 or 162 [games], there are going to be some rough stretches you’ve got to grind your way through and hang in there with guys. I’m a big believer that if you get through spots like that, there are good things on the other end."