All along, the Atlanta Braves knew they wouldn't have Ronald Acuña Jr. back from his torn ACL at the start of the 2025 season. But hopes that he'd be back by mid-May are starting to look a little dicey.
The former MVP is "still building strength in his quads," according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
"They still don’t know exactly when he’ll begin playing rehab games," Bowman wrote on social media on Friday. "Best guess is he’s still a couple weeks from beginning a rehab stint."
That's news of an imminent return, which is what most Braves fans were surely hoping for.
Ronald Acuña Jr. injury timeline remains frustratingly murky
Since March, reports had indicated Acuña would return to the Braves lineup in mid-May. So we're still within the general window of time expected. Still, it's May 2 and the outfielder has not been cleared to begin his rehab stint. Guesses that he'll get going in a "couple of weeks" are still just hopes at this point.
When recovering from his last ACL injury, Acuña made his first rehab appearance on Apr. 19, 2022. He was activated from the injured list and made his season debut nine days later.
Projected Ronald Acuña Jr. return date based on current information: May 27
So let's work out the timeline. If a "couple of weeks" away means Friday, May 16 for a first rehab start, then the Braves could expect Acuña back as early as May 25.
If he's slightly ahead of schedule, Atlanta could plug him in for the home series against the San Diego Padres that begins on Friday, May 23. The next Braves series begins on Tuesday, May 27 in Philadelphia. At least that would be a fortuitous time to get Acuña back. A delay could see him sneak in just before the end of May for the home series with the Red Sox on May 30.
The Braves had a horrific start to the 2025 campaign, but they've turned things around recently. Since Apr. 18, they're 9-3 with series wins over the Twins, Cardinals, Diamondbacks and Rockies.
The bad news? They'll certainly have to go through a tough series against the Dodgers this week without Acuña. The good news? Three of the next five series after that are against the Pirates and Nationals (twice). The Reds and Red Sox will provide more of a test in that span.