The last day of March sure felt like an April Fool’s Day joke as the Atlanta Braves lost outfielder Jurickson Profar to an 80-game suspension and starting pitcher Reynóldo Lopez to the 15-day injured list.
There was a little good news mixed in with Sean Murphy starting his Triple-A rehabilitation tomorrow but the most notable update was that provided by Braves manager Brian Snitker prior to tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers regarding the progression of star outfielder Ronald Acuña, Jr.
Snitker told reporters, including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, that Acuña, Jr. should begin normal outfield drills in April, once he is cleared to do so.
Snitker said Acuña will come to LA at some point in April. The hope is he’ll be cleared at that point to begin cutting and doing all of the normal outfield drills.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 1, 2025
As The Athletic’s David O’Brien noted, Snitker did say that Acuña, Jr. has not begun cutting, either.
Snitker said they’ll probably go day-to-day with leadoff decisions until Acuña returns. Acuña isn’t doing any cutting or outfield drills yet, Snitker said. https://t.co/JcpQpzD6pN
— David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) April 1, 2025
The expectation has been that Acuña, Jr. would likely be looking to return to the Braves line-up in mid-to-late May. The update provided this evening shows that, while Acuña, Jr.’s recovery from knee surgery is progressing, a return is not yet imminent.
With the loss of Profar leaving the Braves short-handed until just before the All-Star break, Atlanta will have to be patient while it waits for the 2023 NL MVP to return to the line-up.
