Braves Make a Surprise Decision on Ronald Acuna Jr.

Acuna had been on the IL since May 3 with a left hamstring strain. His activation comes as a surprise given the Braves had been playing it cautious with their prized right fielder.

Acuna did not require a rehab assignment and went through drills and workouts in order to make his way back to the club.

While Acuna is back on the roster, he's not in the starting lineup against the Miami Marlins on Monday night. Mike Yastrzemski is slotted in to play right field. Acuna is, however, an option off the bench tonight, per Jesus Cano of The Athletic.

Acuna will likely be back in the lineup for the Braves' second game of their series with the Marlins on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old did not get off to a strong start to the season before getting hurt. In 34 games, Acuna slashed .252/.362/.378 with a .740 OPS, two home runs and nine RBI. These numbers are all well-below Acuna's career norms.

That being said, he was slashing .320/.414/.440 in his last seven games before landing on the IL. The Braves will be hoping that he can find his stroke at the plate once he re-enters the lineup.

Acuna has been limited to just 144 games combined the past two seasons due to a torn ACL suffered in May of 2024. But he did return in 2025 to win NL Comeback Player of the Year.

Acuna is now back in Miami with the team and that's good news for the Braves, who are 32-15 on the season and eight games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East.