KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was removed from Tuesday night's loss at Kansas City with tightness in his right Achilles tendon and will be placed on the 10-day injured list.
Acuña experienced discomfort after chasing down a ball in right field. He'll be evaluated further on Wednesday.
"It's an Achilles thing, it's going to take a while," manager Brian Snitker said after the Braves fell 9-6 to the Royals. "He'll go on the IL and hopefully in 10 days or so it'll clear up."
Acuña said he initially felt pain while running the bases on Monday night.
"It happened when I scored from first to home on that play," Acuña said through an interpreter. "They are going to examine me tomorrow so we'll see how it goes."
The discomfort returned after Acuña ran for a foul ball in the sixth inning Tuesday night. Later in the inning, a ball was hit over his head and he gave chase. He left the game after the sixth.
"It was hurting even more," Acuña said. "I was kind of out there hoping they wouldn't hit it my way and of course any time you do that, they always hit it your way."
Acuña said the pain was worse than it was on Monday.
"I told them yesterday and everyone said, 'Take the day if you want it, you can have the day off,'" Acuña said. "I've missed so much time already through injuries, I didn't want to miss any more time."
The five-time All-Star and 2023 National League MVP missed most of last season with a torn left ACL.
"It's an injury, I'm worried," Acuña said. "It's more pain, but it feels kind of, I feel it a lot when I try to put pressure on it."
