Minor League Baseball

Ronald Acuna Jr. to Begin Rehab Assignment This Month For Atlanta Braves

Ronald Acuna Jr., who is coming off his second torn ACL, is not quite ready for a rehab assignment but he could be granted clearance soon.
Brady Farkas|
Atlanta Braves third baseman Zack Short (left) and Atlanta center fielder Michael Harris II (right) congratulate right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) crossing home plate on a three-run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the eighth inning at PNC Park in 2024.
Atlanta Braves third baseman Zack Short (left) and Atlanta center fielder Michael Harris II (right) congratulate right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) crossing home plate on a three-run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the eighth inning at PNC Park in 2024. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Braves

UPDATE, 5:55 p.m. ET: According to McAuley, Acuna will not head back to Los Angeles. He will begin a rehab assignment this month.

4:30 p.m. ET: The Atlanta Braves are getting closer to seeing former National League MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. back on the field.

Rehabbing from a torn left ACL, Acuna is not quite ready for a rehab assignment, but he could be soon, according to Braves' Insider Grant McAuley.

#Braves Ronald Acuña Jr. is working on his rehab in Florida but will go back to Los Angeles one more time to be cleared by his doctors before going on a rehab assignment. No time has been set as of now for that.

Whenever Acuna is cleared for a rehab stint, he'll likely need the full time to get himself back into game shape. It seems plausible that he'd be back with the Braves by mid-June.

The National League MVP in 2023, Acuna Jr. hit just .250 in his 49 games last year. He had only four homers and 15 RBI before getting hurt.

Acuna hit 41 homers, drove in 106 runs and stole 73 bases in his 2023 season, which is one of the best seasons in baseball history. He was an All-Star and won the MVP Award.

Lifetime, he's a .289 hitter with 165 home runs. Still just 27 years old, Acuna is a four-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger. He also won the National League Rookie of the Year in 2018 and earned a World Series ring in 2021.

The Braves enter play on Monday at 15-18 and in fourth place in the National League East. They are playing the Cincinnati Reds at 7:15 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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