Braves are expected to activate Ronald Acuna Jr. on Friday

Ronald Acuna Jr. is seemingly a day away from his return to Truist Park. The Atlanta Braves scratched Acuna from what would have been his sixth rehab appearance with Triple-A Gwinnett. 

Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase reports that Acuna is en route to meet the team in Atlanta. Francys Romero adds that the Braves intend to activate him from the injured list before Friday's series opener against the San Diego Padres.

It’s three days shy of the one-year anniversary of Acuna’s season-ending ACL tear. On May 26, 2024, he tore the ligament in his left knee while bluffing a stolen base attempt. It was the second time in his seven-year career that a season had been cut short by a devastating knee injury. Acuna tore the ACL in his right knee in July 2021, sidelining him for their World Series run.

Acuna made a quicker return from his first ACL tear. He was reinstated before the end of April 2022. He showed some signs of rust throughout that year, hitting .266/.351/.413 the rest of the way. That was well below his 2018-21 production. He followed with a career-best season to win the 2023 NL MVP award. He’d been out to a slower start last season, batting .250/.351/.365 across 49 games.

The Braves took things more slowly with Acuna’s second ACL rehab. He didn’t log any game action in spring training and has spent the first two months of the season on the IL. Atlanta sent him to its complex to begin a rehab assignment 10 days ago. He played one game there before reporting to Gwinnett, where he collected five hits and took seven walks in five games. The Braves have evidently seen enough to plug him back into Brian Snitker’s lineup, presumably in his customary leadoff spot.

Alex Verdugo has been hitting atop the order while playing every day in left field. He’s struggling offensively for a second consecutive year. Verdugo has hit .257/.314/.330 without a home run in 118 plate appearances. That’s on par with his .233/.291/.356 batting line in last season’s disappointing run with the Yankees.

Acuna has been a full-time right fielder over the past half-decade. He’ll slot back into that position, where Eli White has played his way into regular playing time. He could slide to left field and cut into Verdugo’s reps. White hit .311/.367/.600 with eight extra-base hits in April. His bat has cooled this month (.269/.310/.358 with no home runs), but that’s still a bit better than what Verdugo has provided.

White hits right-handed but has been better without the platoon advantage throughout his career. The lefty-hitting Verdugo is much better against righty pitching, as expected. Jurickson Profar will be back from his PED suspension in July. He’ll presumably return to everyday left field work, though he’d be ineligible for postseason play if the Braves qualify.

Atlanta has clawed back to .500 following its 0-7 start to the season. The Braves are three games back of the NL’s final wild-card spot, which is currently held by the team they’ll welcome Friday. San Diego swept the Braves over a four-game set to open the year, but it's taking a six-game losing streak into this weekend’s series.

The Braves technically only need to create an active roster spot for Acuna’s return from the 10-day IL, but they’re quite likely to designate someone for assignment Friday. Drake Baldwin and Michael Harris II are the only hitters on the active roster who have minor league options. Luke Williams, Stuart Fairchild and Orlando Arcia are all out of options and have seen little to no playing time off the bench in recent weeks.