Ronald Acuna Jr. hopes to return to the field in time for Opening Day in 2025, but the Atlanta Braves’ star outfielder said he is not rushing his recovery from a torn left ACL he sustained this May.
“I’m just going to be a little more cautious and careful with (my recovery),” Acuna said Wednesday, per MLB.com. “If the team and the doctors tell me I’m ready to go and I go out there and I don’t feel good, or something’s bothering me, then I will say something.”
Acuna sustained the injury while running the bases against the Pirates in Pittsburgh on May 26.
He was batting .250 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 49 games this season after winning his first National League MVP Award in 2023. Acuna belted 41 homers and stole 73 bases last year to post the first 40-70 season in league history.
His historic campaign came two years after he sustained a torn right ACL in July 2021 and missed the rest of that season, which culminated in the Braves’ most recent World Series title.
Having sustained two major knee injuries less than three years apart, Acuna admitted he may not be as electric on the basepaths once he returns.
“We’re really going to focus on my hitting and fielding and anything I can do to help the team win,” he said, per MLB.com. “In regards to running and stealing those bases, I don’t know if I’ll be able to steal the 40 or 50 bags as easily. I think that’s still to be seen. But yeah, I just don’t know how that’s going to play out.”
Acuna, 26, is a career .289 hitter with a .904 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He has tallied 165 home runs, 417 RBIs and 196 stolen bases in 722 games in parts of seven seasons, all with Atlanta.
The Braves, who are currently battling the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks for two wild-card spots, open next season at the San Diego Padres on March 27.
–Field Level Media