Anyone that has watched the Atlanta Braves this year knows that the offense has left a lot to be desired. Once Marcell Ozuna cooled off, the Braves have had to scratch runs together here and there and put together some late rallies just to keep their record respectable. Fortunately, their most dynamic offensive threat, 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., is about to take the last step in his rehab before getting back into their lineup.
Acuña Jr. underwent knee surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee back in early June 2024. Nearly a year later, the Braves revealed that he is set to begin his rehab assignment down in rookie ball starting on Tuesday.
#Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. will begin rehab assignment Tuesday at North Port in the Florida Complex Rookie League. He’ll play in the outfield, and they’ll see how he feels after some games there before bumping him up to a higher minor league. Still no specific timetable for return
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 12, 2025
Ronald Acuña Jr. set to finally begin his rehab assignment beginning on Tuesday, but timeline still unclear
Everyone involved is being very careful to temper expectations with Acuña Jr.'s rehab at the moment. There was an initial projection where it was thought that he would be ready to return by mid-May, but that ended up not working out and the Braves are not wanting to get fans' hopes up again especially when their primary focus is making sure Acuña Jr. is fully healthy.
As a result, the current plan is for Acuña Jr. to begin his rehab down in North Port where he will be able to play away from the bright lights. He will play in the outfield, but won't get moved up to higher levels of the minors until he is able to play on both sides of the ball without significant soreness in his knee after the fact. It may take a few games before he gets moved up the ladder, but it may not be long after that that we could see him in MLB games again.
There are going to be some details to iron out. Other than some potential fallout from the unfortunate drama from Acuña Jr. taking issue with some perceived inconsistency from manager Brian Snitker, Atlanta is also going to have to figure out which outfielders to keep and how they want to handle Acuña Jr.'s playing time to start. However, it is just nice to see a light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully we will get to see this offense fully healthy again soon.