Atlanta Braves fans have long been anticipating the return of former NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. It has been a long year without him, and his presence in the lineup is extremely important. He's one of the best hitters in baseball, and fans deserve to be able to see him play.
The Braves hoped he would return sometime around mid-May, but here we are at the start of the month, and no updates have been provided. It's starting to feel like fans will have to wait a bit longer for his return.
Ronald Acuña Jr. still disappointingly has no timetable for return to Braves lineup
Two weeks ago, Acuña was cleared by his doctors to ramp up baseball activities. This included being able to cut while running and starting/stopping his run quickly. He has been in Florida since being cleared, and we really hadn't heard much else about his progress.
Today, MLB and Braves insider, Mark Bowman, posted online that Atlanta's superstar is still building strength in his quads. There is still no timetable for when he will begin a rehab assignment. Bowman stated his best guess is that Acuña is "still a couple of weeks from beginning a rehab stint."
Acuña is still building strength in his quads. They still don’t know exactly when he’ll begin playing rehab games. Best guess is he’s still a couple weeks from beginning a rehab stint. https://t.co/BUOewqMQvN
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 2, 2025
It's extremely disappointing to learn that Acuña may not return in the next couple of weeks. Seems like it could end up being the end of May or the beginning of June before fans see him on the field with the Braves.
While the team has performed well lately in his absence, having his presence back on the field will be wonderful. MLB Network's Mark DeRosa stated on air a few days ago that Acuña's return is either going to put the team on his back or "he's going to crater this thing."
Not sure why DeRosa thinks adding Acuña back to the lineup would cause things to crumble. It was a strange take on one of baseball's best players, but was likely a dig based on the drama that emerged between Acuña and Brian Snitker.
Yes, Acuña could struggle initially when he returns but he is a career .289 hitter with 165 home runs, 417 RBI, 141 wRC+, and 28.3 WAR. He is a force to be reckoned with and only makes this team better. There's no way he doesn't inject some adrenaline into this offense.