Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. makes a statement in 1st rehab game

Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. wasted little time making a statement as he hit a home run in his first rehab game in the minors. The 2023 NL MVP made his anticipated return to action for the FCL Braves against the FCL Orioles on Tuesday.

Acuna has been on the shelf since last May after tearing his ACL in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 27-year-old went 1-for-3, including a solo bomb in the fifth during the brief minor league appearance.

After being out for over a year, Acuna's progression back to the game is a welcome sign for the ailing Braves. Atlanta started the 2025 season as one of the worst teams in MLB due to injuries to Acuna and Spencer Strider.

Through solid team play on both sides of the ball, they have seemingly stabilized at 21-21 but are yet to show the brand of dominance their fans have grown accustomed to.

In Acuna's last full season, he clinched the National League MVP after leading the league in hits at 217, runs at 149, stolen bases at 73, on-base percentage at .416, and total bases at 383. In addition to his first MVP triumph, the Braves superstar was also selected for the All-Star game and claimed the third Silver Slugger Award of his decorated career.

Ronald Acuna Jr. takes swipe at Braves manager

In April, after the Braves faced the Minnesota Twins, superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. took a swipe at team skipper Brian Snitker before quickly deleting the post.

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The incident occurred when outfielder Jarred Kelenic was thrown out at second base after taking precious time rounding the bases. Kelenic slowed down on the base paths when it seemed that the ball was going out of the yard. However, it bounced off the right field wall and he was subsequently caught at second base.

After the game, Snitker made a comment about Kelenic's lack of hustle that drew the ire of Acuna.

"Did I say anything or was I supposed to," said Snitker. (0:30-0:31)

The skipper's action, or lack thereof, prompted Acuna to send out a tweet, alleging double standards.

"If it were me, they would take me out of the game," said Acuna.

Snitker pulled Acuna out of a game against the Dodgers in August 2019 for a perceived lack of hustle when the latter admired a ball that ended up being a long single.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Daniel Santiago