ATLANTA -- Ronald Acuña Jr. appears to still be on course to rejoin Atlanta’s lineup by the end of this month.
Acuña will begin a rehab stint when the Braves’ Florida Complex League team hosts the FCL Orioles on Tuesday night at CoolToday Park. He will continue to work out and play games at the team’s Spring Training complex in North Port, Fla., until it’s deemed he’s ready to join one of Atlanta’s other Minor League affiliates.
The Braves haven’t provided any clues regarding how many games Acuña could play before being activated. But when asked, manager Brian Snitker made a point to say it’s been nearly a full calendar year since the 2023 National League MVP last played in a game.
A position player can’t stay on a rehab stint more than 20 days. So, barring any setbacks, Acuña will be activated by June 1. But there’s certainly reason to anticipate an earlier return to Atlanta’s lineup.
Acuña tore his left anterior cruciate ligament when he broke toward third base during a game in Pittsburgh on May 26. His year-long recovery and rehab from this major knee surgery was far more conservative than the one he experienced after he tore his right ACL on July 10, 2021. He was activated from the injured list on April 28, 2022, less than 10 full months after surgery.
Acuña has been taking batting practice and completing other baseball drills going all the way back to the start of Spring Training. But he wasn’t permitted to cut while running or do some outfield drills until he visited Dr. Neal ElAttrache last month.