Ronald Acuña Jr.'s 2025 Return: When is Braves star coming back from injury?

For the first time since the middle of last season, Ronald Acuna Jr. is going to play a baseball game today. He has not been in an MLB game since going down on May 26, making it almost a full year without seeing the 2023 MVP.

Acuna Jr. suffered the second torn ACL of his career, although it was to a different knee. He was running the bases when he collapsed on May 26 and had to be taken off. He's back tonight after a lengthy absence. Who is he facing?

Acuna Jr.'s first MLB action in nearly 365 days will be against the San Diego Padres. They are the team that eliminated Acuna's team from the playoffs last year, though the outfielder could only watch.

The Atlanta Braves outfielder will have to face Nick Pivetta, who is 5-2 with a 2.86 ERA and 56 strikeouts this season. It's not an easy matchup for Acuna Jr. The Braves and Padres don't play until this evening, so it will be a while before his official place in the lineup is revealed, but he should slot back somewhere in the top half like he usually is.

Given the nature of his injury and how overly cautious the Braves have been, it would not be a surprise if Acuna Jr. played tonight and then was benched tomorrow to keep him off his legs.

Braves manager gives final update on Ronald Acuna Jr.

The Atlanta Braves have waited a long time to get the 2023 NL MVP, a player who hit 30 home runs and stole 70 bases (the first in MLB history to reach those thresholds), back. Ronald Acuna Jr. is officially back tonight.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said, via MLB:

“He’s been doing nothing but working out. And the reason to get him in the outfield, not with -- the knee’s fine, it’s about the rest of his body. … He’s in great shape. He’s lean. He’s feeling really -- the biggest thing was to hear from him, how his body feels. After last night, he said his body felt great.”

The slugger could've returned earlier, but the Braves didn't want to chance anything. After a rough start, they've rebounded and weathered the storm to move to around .500, and they are hopeful that Acuna's return will push them even higher.

About the author

Zachary is a journalist covering NFL, Professional Golf, esports, and Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda. He has a degree in writing/editing from Southern Adventist University (USA), and in his spare time, he likes to play games such as Minecraft, Pokémon and Fortnite, or watch sports.

Ever since he was a youth football wide receiver, Zachary has been an avid NFL fan. He loves the Carolina Panthers, with Cam Newton being his all-time favorite player (with respect to the close second, Steve Smith). If you ever meet Zachary, prepare to hear all about how underrated Newton was and how he single-handedly dragged the Panthers to Super Bowl 50.

Zachary is also a big fan of top golfers like Tiger Woods, Wyndham Clark, and Scottie Scheffler. He enjoys watching them and hopes that Woods can return to form soon and win again.

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Edited by Rajdeep Barman

Ronald Acuña Jr.'s 2025 Return: When is Braves star coming back from injury? - Update announcement

Braves manager gives final update on Ronald Acuna Jr.