Here we are one week into the season, and the Atlanta Braves are facing a plethora of challenges. The starting rotation is not at full strength with Spencer Strider still working his way back from surgery, Reynaldo Lopez is on the 60-day IL, the bullpen has been horrible and so has the offense amid a historically bad 0-7 start.
Offseason addition Jurickson Profar was anticipated to help ignite the Atlanta lineup, but after testing positive for PEDs and facing an 80-game suspension, it is "next man up" for the Braves. But since Ronald Acuña Jr. is also still recovering from injury, their options are fairly limited. It feels like Alex Anthopoulos and the Atlanta front office is already in scramble mode, trying to find any solution to stop the bleeding. This situation puts the Braves in danger of making a huge mistake with their most important player.
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The Atlanta Braves should not rush Ronald Acuña Jr. back from injury
Atlanta has made some minor moves in an attempt to counter the challenges they are facing. On the same day Profar’s suspension was reported, Anthopoulos made a deal with the Cincinnati Reds to acquire outfielder Stuart Fairchild.
While Brian Snitker is trying to do the best he can with the cards he has been dealt, the Braves’ skipper can only count down the days until he is able to put Ronald Acuña Jr. back in the outfield. But when will that be?
It was originally projected that Acuña will return around mid-May, but given Atlanta’s horrible start they are desperate for help. The Foul Territory podcast discussed the potential of the Braves bringing Acuña back earlier than expected, serving only as a DH rather than in the outfield.
Considering their sluggish start, could the Braves push Ronald Acuña Jr. back sooner than expected?
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) April 3, 2025
"I just don't see them pushing his timetable up by very much," says @GrantMcAuley. pic.twitter.com/0Bb7PDooVQ
Braves reporter, Grant McAuley, says that he doesn’t Atlanta “pushing Acuña’s timetable up very much.” Rushing Acuña back would be a huge mistake. Yes, the Braves need him in 2025; but more importantly, they need him for years to come. This is Acuña’s second ACL tear ,and he struggled to be at full strength when he came back from his last one. Trying to salvage a horrific start to a season is not worth risking a superstar’s long-term health.
Anthopoulos has been the GM for the Braves since 2017 and is likely feeling more pressure right now than he has in the last eight years combined. He has been all about trying to patch up holes internally, which makes it feel like he is at risk for pushing Acuña back too soon.