While they certainly don’t explain the whole story, at least some of the Braves’ early season struggles can likely be attributed to the injuries the team is currently dealing with, as both Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr. are still out of the lineup with injuries sustained during the 2024 season.

Recently, Grant McAuley of 92.9 The Game shared a positive update regarding Acuna’s status on X, formerly Twitter.

“Ronald Acuña Jr. will be heading to Los Angeles soon to get the final clearances from doctors to ramp up his running and eventually head out on a rehab assignment. Timetable is not in stone, but anticipating an early-mid May return (barring any setbacks) seems logical,” reported McAuley.

A positive update for the Braves

Last year, Acuna suffered the second torn ACL of his career with the Braves. Coincidentally, the team ended up winning the World Series the first time that happened in 2021, but the Braves had no such luck this past season, ultimately falling to the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round.

Atlanta opened up this season in a similar fashion, getting swept by the Padres in their first series, swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in their second, and then splitting two games with the lowly Marlins to open up their home schedule.

While the season is barely five percent complete and there is still plenty of time to turn things around, the Braves have already dug themselves quite a hole to climb out of at this early juncture.

The Braves will next take the field on Tuesday evening at home vs the Phillies.