Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is recovering from the second torn ACL of his MLB career, but he believes he’s nearly all the way back. The 2023 MVP said Friday that he’s recovered around 90-95% from the surgery as he continues to rehab, per the Associated Press.
“I feel great,” Acuña said. “When they tell me I need to be there that day, I’ll be there.”
Acuña tore the ACL in his left knee on May 26 last season and had surgery on June 4. It’s a different knee, and all injuries are different, but we could look back to 2021-22 for a rough timetable with Acuña. He tore his left ACL on July 10, 2021, and then had surgery on July 21. He returned to the Braves on April 28, 2022, after missing 19 games to start that season.
A similar timetable this time around would have Acuña ready for opening day in 2025, though the Braves have been open about wanting to take things slower with him this time around.
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In 2022, Acuña hit .207/.281/.345 in his first seven games and ended up having one of the least productive seasons of his career. Then, in 2023, he had a historically great season and won NL MVP.
Of course, he was having an off season in 2024 before the knee injury. In his 49 games last year, he hit .250/.351/.365 with four homers, 16 stolen bases and 0.0 WAR.
The Braves made the playoffs last year, but the offense took a huge step back from the 2023 juggernaut. They’ll be looking to bounce back and getting a fully-functional Acuña back on the field will be a significant part of that equation.
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