Ronald Acuña feels good, could begin rehab assignment by Thursday, per report

While the Braves remain near the top of the NL East standings, there is no question that the offense has slowed down quite a bit since being on a tear to start the season. Some of that is due to some expected regression, but some of that has been due to the loss of one of more dangerous hitters in their lineup. Ronald Acuña Jr. certainly had some growing pains as a young player in his first taste of the majors, but there is no questioning how much of a difference maker he can be on the field, on the basepaths, and at the plate.

Unfortunately, after injuring his knee and back on a play at first that looked FAR worse than it ended up being at the end of May, Acuña has been unable to lend a hand in keeping the Braves in the hunt for the division. It appears as though he could be rejoining the team soon and possibly by the end of the weekend.

Before his injury, Acuña had posted a .265/.326/.453 line with five homers in 29 games with the Braves. Based on some other reporting that has happened recently including that from DOB, it appears possible that Acuña could get by with a short rehab stint in the minors. If he were able to make a rehab appearance on Thursday and everything went well, that would put Acuña at potentially returning against the Padres this weekend. If he needs a little more time, the Braves’ road series against Toronto seems like a logical timeline as well.