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REPORT: Ronald Acuña Jr. a healthy scratch, set to return Friday

Originally posted on SportsTalkATL | By Chase Irle | Last updated May 22, 2025 7:15 PM ET

Braves Country, the wait finally appears to be over. After originally being apart of Thursday’s lineup for the Gwinnett Stripers, Ronald Acuña Jr. was later declared a healthy scratch, setting him up for a return to Atlanta on Friday against the Padres.

Kelenic is now leading off for Gwinnett tonight. Acuña is a healthy scratch. This indicates he will be in the lineup for tomorrow’s game against the Padres. His return will come three days shy of the one-year anniversary of his ACL tear.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 22, 2025

Ronald Acuña Jr. will be activated tomorrow when the series between the Braves and Padres begins in Atlanta, per sources.

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) May 22, 2025

It was around this time last year that Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL for the second time in his career. The Braves were much more cautious in his rehabilitation this time around, but if his performance in the minors is any indication of what’s to come, it appears to have paid dividends.

Ronald Acuña Jr. has six hits and seven walks in 22 plate appearances since his rehab assignment began, including a couple of home runs, good for a 1.524 OPS. The hope is that his return will catapult the Braves offense from the middle of the pack back to the top 5, where they were before he got injured.

This article first appeared on SportsTalkATL and was syndicated with permission.

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