The elephant in the room for the Atlanta Braves in 2025 is whether or not Ronald Acuna Jr. will return to form after his season-ending knee surgery last year. When healthy, Acuna Jr. is among the best and most dynamic players in all of baseball and Braves fans are anxious to see if he can be that guy again after his second major knee injury of his young career.
What we know for certain is that he will not be ready for Opening Day. This being his second knee injury (albeit to different knees) and the fact that he came back too fast from the first one and struggled has the Braves looking to be cautious with the 2023 NL MVP this time. Given all of the Braves' injuries last season, count us as among those onboard with doing everything possible to prevent a repeat of that.
Thankfully, it sounds like his recovery is going well. Acuna Jr. spoke with the media on Friday and provided an update on his progress and how he is feeling as well as making a pretty bold statement about the Braves' outfield this coming season once he is back.
Ronald Acuna jr. just spoke to us for the first time since his acl surgery and he did a majority of it in English.
— Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) February 14, 2025
He says he feels 90-95 % in regards to running and cutting. He says he needs to take it easy but it will be hard once I get on base.#ForTheA #braves pic.twitter.com/L8KonJe3Pg
Ronald Acuna Jr. is already feeling "90-95%" and thinks Atlanta may have the best outfield in baseball this season
First, it was great to see that Acuna Jr. feels comfortable enough so far to speak to the media in English. While he has known and spoken English away from the microphones for a while now, he has typically used a translator when speaking to the media. Given how big and fun his personality is, it is just nice to hear his words in his own voice and hopefully he keeps it up.
Second, the important news from his comments was that he is feeling really good especially when compared to his first knee surgery recovery. He is working hard to get back out there and there is no shortage of videos of him already hitting absolute tanks in batting practice and doing various drills to prepare for the season. Acuna Jr. said he thinks he is at around "90-95%", although he also acknowledged he is going to have to take it easier when he is on the bases this year.
Acuna Jr. was also asked about the Braves' new outfield which will include Jurickson Profar who Atlanta signed earlier this offseason. His comments left no doubt as to how he feels about the move and the outfield as a whole.
Ronald Acuña Jr. when asked about the #Braves outfield, where he'll play alongside Michael Harris II and Jurickson Profar:
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) February 14, 2025
"Best outfield in baseball."
For Braves fans still smarting from a disappointing and injury-marred 2024 season, one really hopes that Acuna Jr. is right about that. If he is, this Braves team could be a whole lot of fun to watch again.