Major League Baseball

With Ronald Acuña Jr. nearing return, Braves confident despite slow start

Updated Apr. 24, 2022 9:12 p.m. ET

By Pedro Moura
FOX Sports MLB Writer

LOS ANGELES — The Atlanta Braves are still easing into 2022, a little bit late and not yet with their superstar in tow. With Ronald Acuña Jr. on a rehab assignment with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers, Freddie Freeman’s absence still looms large.

One afternoon this week at Freeman’s new home, Dodger Stadium, his replacement, Atlanta native Matt Olson, replicated what Freeman famously did before every game with third-base coach Ron Washington. Exactly six months earlier, as the Braves triumphed over the Dodgers in the 2021 NLCS, Freeman did the same drills in the same spot.

Olson and Washington are still getting to know each other, though. Kneeling on the grass in foul territory, Olson fielded hot-shot grounders off Washington’s bat from 10 feet, shifting angles every minute or so. When, at one point, a glove rested directly between them, complicating the ball’s path to Olson, the first baseman questioned the additional challenge.

"There’s a madness to everything I do," a chuckling Washington repeated several times, eventually eliciting a smile from Olson. It was humorously unclear whether Washington meant to invert the idiom.

Washington, 69, is one of the squad’s spiritual hearts, and he has been since he took this job after the 2016 season. Minutes before Olson emerged, Freeman had shouted Washington's name from across the field, and Washington had bellowed "FREDERICK" in response.

Washington can confidently assess what’s wrong with the Braves so far in 2022.

First, some background. They're 6-8, with a couple of laugher losses already on their ledger. Postseason hero Eddie Rosario has been a zero, and several position players have struck out too much. Their younger starting pitchers have struggled. Entering play Friday, only the Orioles, Nationals, Reds and Diamondbacks have logged worse run differentials than the Braves’ minus-14. All four of those teams entered this season with dramatically lower expectations than the Braves.

"Right now, we’re searching," Washington said. "Our pitching is inconsistent. Our outfield defense is inconsistent. Our offense is inconsistent. Right now.

"But each and every one of those guys is capable of playing at a higher level, with more consistency. We just can’t let them get in their own head."

Freddie Freeman goes deep again against Braves

Freddie Freeman went 3-for-4 with a home run in the Dodgers' 5-1 victory over the Braves on Wednesday. He hit two homers in the three-game series vs. his former team.

The Braves can acknowledge now that they were in their own heads for the first half of 2021, especially after Acuña sustained a season-ending ACL tear on July 10. A World Series win makes that much easier to admit. They did not play up to their talent level until general manager Alex Anthopoulos acquired significant aid at the July 30 trade deadline. Those additions, including Rosario, helped and compelled the rest of the roster to play better.

"Things didn’t fall into place for us until the end of July. That’s when, all of a sudden, things started falling into place," Washington said. "Everybody started being the way they are, started playing the way they can."

Already this season, Anthopoulos has taken action reminiscent of what he did last year. On Wednesday, he acquired veteran reliever Jesse Chavez from the Cubs in exchange for longtime prospect Sean Newcomb. Chavez became one of the 2021 Braves’ leaders after joining the team midseason.

But he's a journeyman. It's not a drastic move. The Braves are not yet near the point they reached last summer.

"Everybody likes to fast-forward to July. I’m not overly concerned," manager Brian Snitker said. "Some guys are taking a while to get off the mark. When we get Ronald back, that’s gonna self-correct."

Acuña told reporters at his first minor-league game that his return should occur by, if not before, May 6. So there’s not much more time to weather.

But as they faced the Dodgers this week, the Braves also faced the uncomfortable reality that the Los Angeles team is functioning at a higher level than they are right now. But they’ve dealt with that before and overcame it last year.

"All they know is winning," Washington said of the Dodgers. "And they’re not gonna let anybody bring that down. We have to do that. For the past five years, all we know is winning, too. Of course, not at the level of these guys, but all we know is winning, too, and we can’t let anybody bring it down."

Maybe the rings will help. The Braves have had their impossibly gaudy World Series rings in their possession for not quite two weeks now. They’re not to be broken out regularly — stored in memories, safety-deposit boxes and undisclosed locations, or, in Washington’s case, a safe inside his home. "One of them heavy-ass safes," he said. "Any thieves gotta come with a torch. After that, you gotta come with some other s---."

The Braves' goal remains to repeat and earn another ring, to begin a dynasty. And after last year, no one and no slow start will convince them they can’t.

Pedro Moura is the national baseball writer for FOX Sports. He most recently covered the Dodgers for three seasons for The Athletic. Previously, he spent five years covering the Angels and Dodgers for the Orange County Register and L.A. Times. More previously, he covered his alma mater, USC, for ESPNLosAngeles.com. The son of Brazilian immigrants, he grew up in the Southern California suburbs. Follow him on Twitter @pedromoura.