Heading into Tuesday’s slate of games, the Atlanta Braves sit at 52-37. This has them in first place in the National League East, three games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies.
It is a clear resurgence from where the team was the past two seasons. Across 2024 and 2025, the team went 165-159. This was a far cry from their 2021 World Series Championship, as well as their 2022 and 2023 NL East division crowns.
The usual stars like Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies have been raking, but the team has once again not gotten enough games played out of right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr.
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The 28-year-old has appeared in 53 games this season, or about 60% of the schedule so far. He first missed time with a left hamstring strain in May, came back, then re-injured it. The Grade 1 strain has kept him out of action since June 10.
During his time on the field, Acuña slashed .251/.373/.421 (.794 OPS). He produced seven home runs and 22 RBIs, along with 15 stolen bases.
Approaching the All-Star Break, Braves first-year manager Walt Weiss gave an update on the right fielder’s status, saying he could begin his rehab assignment next week. The quote was reported by Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
The details of such a rehab assignment are unclear as of yet. It is likely that Acuña will go to either Double-A Columbus or Triple-A Gwinnett. The best case scenario is that he then plays about three or four rehab games and re-joins the major league club out of the break.
It is a beaten horse at this point, but Acuña’s unfortunate inability to stay healthy throughout his career has really plagued Atlanta. Now in the final year of his eight-year, $100 million rookie extension, the superstar has only cracked 100 games played three times.
As of now, things are looking up for Acuña and his rehab. The Braves open up after the break with a seven-game home stand from July 17-23, where Acuña could be back in action.
