Ronald Acuña returns to Braves lineup at perfect time with NL East-leading Mets coming to town

Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will be back in action on Monday as the Braves welcome the NL East-leading Mets to town.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is returning to the Braves lineup.

The injured outfielder is slated to play on Monday night when Atlanta hosts the Mets in a huge divisional series, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

The timing could hardly have been more perfect for the Braves.

Ronald Acuña Jr. will help the Braves take on the Mets

Acuña injured his ankle during a loss to Toronto on May 13. While racing to first base, he landed awkwardly on the bag and had trouble putting weight on his ankle as he left the game. It looked bad in the moment, but manager Brian Snitker was able to quickly assuage fears by announcing that X-rays were negative.

Nonetheless, Atlanta has taken a measured approach to bringing their MVP candidate back into the lineup. He missed two games in Milwaukee over the weekend. He didn’t start on Sunday out of an abundance of caution but did see one plate appearance as a pinch hitter.

It made sense for the Braves to make sure he wasn’t rushed back, especially with such a pivotal series against the Mets coming up. He’s dealt with minor injury issues all season and the last thing the team needs is for something small to balloon into something more series.

Still, the Braves aren’t in a position to take too many risks. Atlanta is 19-21, two games behind New York in the division standings. The three-game series at Truist Park will be the first between the rivals this season.

If Acuña keeps putting up MVP-like numbers, he’ll definitely make a difference this week. He’s leading the major leagues with 33 runs and 12 home runs, even with the missed time. He’s batting .300/.396/.646 while leading MLB in OPS as well.