Ronald Acuña Jr. starting in right field for first time in 12 games

Ronald Acuña Jr. will make his first start in right field since August 26 Wednesday afternoon against the Giants. Acuña, who has been dealing with soreness in his surgically repaired knee, had served as the Braves’ designated hitter for 12 straight games. Marcell Ozuna will serve as Atlanta’s DH and hit eighth for Wednesday’s series finale.

We were expecting Acuña to return to the outfield at some point, but the Braves will likely remain cautious with him over the final few weeks of the regular season. Acuña sat out two games in St. Louis due to soreness in the knee and then said that it was something that he was just going to have to deal with for the remainder of the season. The team responded by utilizing him at DH and he has hit .250/. 291/.385 with one homer and an 86 wRC+ over that stretch. He does have four hits in his last two games and has picked up three stolen bases in his last five, which might be a sign that his knee is feeling better.