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Boy, when it rains Braves news, it pours Braves news. This time, it’s an injury update on Ronald Acuña Jr., courtesy of Kevin McAlpin:
Snit said they hope to have Acuña doing some baseball activities later this week. Continues to improve but is still experiencing some soreness in the knee & back. No timetable on when he could come off the DL, will need to go out on a rehab assignment first. #Braves @680TheFan
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) June 5, 2018
The Braves placed Acuña on the Disabled List after he suffered a gruesome-looking injury during May 27th’s game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Acuña would be eligible to return from his 10-day DL stint at some point this weekend, but now it’s unclear whether things will align enough for him to be able to do so. The combination of things necessary for him to return the lineup, including a reduction in soreness, progressing through baseball activities, and completion of a rehab assignment seem like a tall order to complete in less than a week, so perhaps sometime in the next two weeks may be a more reasonable timetable. Either way, the team has given no indication regarding his potential return.
Acuña is hitting .265/.326/.453 with a 112 wRC+ and 0.3 fWAR in 129 PAs. The Braves have deployed a Preston Tucker and Charlie Culberson platoon in left field in his absence, and don’t appear likely to stop doing so until his eventual return.
Stay tuned for further updates (and Draft coverage...).