Ronald Acuña Jr. Is Coming, but Atlanta Braves Need More

The Atlanta Braves offense performed so poorly during the first week of the 2025 MLB season that it's difficult to find a silver lining. The Braves finished the week last or second-to-last in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS.

On top of that, the team lost starting left fielder Jurickson Profar to an 80-game drug suspension.

The most positive sign the Braves received from their offense may have been a social media update from 2023 MVP Ronald Acuña Jr.

"Almost there," wrote Acuña to a caption for a picture in his Instagram story on March 29.

With an 0-7 start, baseball pundits wondered Thursday if the Braves could push Acuña to return sooner. One possibility 92.9 The Game's Grant McAuley discussed on Foul Territory is if the team would be willing to have Marcell Ozuna play in the outfield and insert Acuña into the lineup as the designated hitter. That could help the 2023 MVP get back quicker.

Acuña's return will be a jolt to the Braves offense whenever it happens. After averaging two runs per game in the season's first road trip, that's exactly what the Atlanta lineup needs.

But Acuña, even in top MVP form, won't be enough. The Braves need their other stars to start hitting.

Most of Braves Country appears to have placed the blame of the winless first road trip on the team's management. Fans have a right to be angry. The Braves didn't replace starting pitchers Max Fried or Charlie Morton in free agency and added a hitter coming off a career year at the plate.

As it turns out, that career year at 31 years old for Profar may have been the result of cheating.

The tone deafness displayed from Braves management this week didn't help its case. Who publicizes the acquisition of an office building when a World Series contending roster is in the midst of a seven-game losing streak?

Having said that, no one foresaw Atlanta's top hitter during the first week of the season being Nick Allen. The reserve infielder was the only Braves player with at least 11 at-bats to hit above .200.

Don't care about batting average? Well, Allen and Ozuna were the only Braves with an OPS of at least .700 in the first seven games.

We can talk all day about how the Braves should have added more outfield insurance so Acuña didn't have to potentially rush his return. The Braves weren't expecting a PED suspension to rock their outfield, but they were always one injury away from where they are now.

One fact remains true, though, regardless of how one feels about the Braves ownership group right now -- the team's stars need to be stars. Ozuna, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies. Are these guys suddenly chop liver? They were ranked among the best players at their positions this offseason despite injury-filled or down 2024 campaigns.

The Braves will only climb out of this mess if they start hitting.

Michael Harris II and Drake Baldwin are two of the most promising young stars in baseball at their positions. Should they get a free pass for a combined 5-for-43 (.116 average) during the first week because Braves management should have been more aggressive in free agency this offseason?

They need to hit.

Obviously, it's easier said than done. Statistically, there's nothing more difficult in sports than hitting a baseball.

But the Braves have assembled, on paper, one of the best lineups in the league. The only way back from an 0-7 hole is not an early Acuña return -- it's that lineup starting to perform like one of the best in baseball.