Ronald Acuña Jr. made significant progress toward rejoining the Braves on Tuesday, as doctors officially cleared him to ramp up his activity and begin moving toward a rehab assignment, according to Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
While there’s still no official timeline for his return, it looks like Acuña could be back within the next month. This development was expected—last week, Braves reporter Grant McAuley noted the team was waiting for clearance on lateral movements and high-intensity running drills.
“He just needs to be checked out and signed off before he can take that next step,” manager Brian Snitker said last week, per the Associated Press. “This was all part of the original plan. He’s not going to rush it.”
Acuña hasn’t played since tearing his ACL on May 26 of last season. He was coming off a historic MVP campaign in 2023, where he slashed .337 with 41 homers, 217 hits, 149 runs, 73 stolen bases, and a league-leading .416 on-base percentage.
Despite his absence, Atlanta still won 89 games last season and finished second in the NL East before being swept 2-0 by the Padres in the Wild Card round.
This year, though, has been a struggle. The Braves dropped their first seven games of 2025 and have had almost no offensive output from their outfield. As of Tuesday, their primary trio in the outfield has combined for just three home runs, and none of them have posted an OPS+ above 60. Overall, Atlanta ranks 19th in MLB in OPS (.678) and 17th in OBP (.306).
