Atlanta Braves Manager Issues Proclamation About Eventual Ronald Acuna Jr. Return

According to a report from MLB.com, Ronald Acuna Jr. continues to impress people at Atlanta Braves camp as he works to return from a torn ACL suffered in May of last year.

The Braves haven’t said when Acuna will be back from the injury, but manager Brian Snitker did issue a proclamation:

“When he comes back, we want him to be able to go,” Snitker said. “We’re going to make sure he is ready to go when we do turn him loose.”

They apparently don’t want to rush bringing him back too early, or bringing him back when he’ll still experience post-playing soreness.

Thus far, Acuna has been taking on-field batting practice, throwing and running, but he has not been cleared to cut at this point.

Even so, it sounds as if Acuna could still rejoin the Braves before the end of April, around the same time as when Spencer Strider comes back from his Tommy John surgery.

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

The 2023 season was one of the best seasons we’ve ever seen though, as he hit 41 homers, drove in 106 runs and stole 73 bases. He’s arguably the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball.

The Braves are coming off a season that saw them finish second in the National League East and advance to the playoffs, where they were beaten in the wild card round by the San Diego Padres. However, with an (eventually) healthy Acuna and Spencer Strider, the team should be primed to challenge the Dodgers in the National League. In addition to those two, the Braves also missed Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies for large portions of 2024. If they remain healthy, they can challenge the Dodgers even further.

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