NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Asked what he thinks when he hears he might not rejoin Atlanta’s roster until some point in May, Ronald Acuña Jr. briefly moved his hoodie in front of his face, chuckled and said, “It’s hard. I’m working hard every day. I’m working to be ready for when they come.”
So, when might the Braves put the 2023 National League MVP back at the top of their lineup?
“Once we get to the end of camp, we'll have a better idea on a time frame,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said. “But the big thing for us is just making sure when he's back, he's full go and he's back to the elite player he's always been.”
Will we ever see Acuña match the historic 40-70 season he constructed as he amazed with his power and speed just two years ago? How much will he be impacted after tearing his right ACL in 2021 and his left ACL this past May? Can he regain the status he had just one year ago, when he ranked as MLB’s top player?
Answers to these questions will develop over the next few months and years. The pressing question is, what should be expected from Acuña during Spring Training? He won’t play in any Grapefruit League games, but he could serve as a designated hitter during some Minor League games on the back fields.
“I feel great, finally,” Acuña said. “I know how much work I put into myself to be here again.”
Acuña has spent the past few days laughing and smiling with his Braves teammates. He is taking batting practice and running at what he estimates to be 90 percent effort. But he’s still at least a few weeks away from being cleared to further test his surgically-repaired knee with cutting drills.
Though the Braves have never set a definitive timetable for Acuña’s return, the thought has been he will return during the regular-season’s second month. His progress over the next few weeks could determine whether he’s back at the Major League level during the first or second half of May.
“He’s already further ahead of where he was at the same stage [in 2022],” Anthopoulos said.
Acuña tore his right ACL while tracking a fly ball in Miami on July 10, 2021. He returned by the end of April '22 and was bothered by discomfort while producing a career-worst .764 OPS that season. His most recent significant knee injury, a torn left ACL, was suffered as he got caught between second and third base during a May 26 game in Pittsburgh last year.
Given that he had lingering issues after returning less than 10 months after the right ACL tear, does it make sense for the team to give him nearly a full year to recover before returning this year?
“I think his floor is what he did [in 2022],” Anthopoulos said. “I feel that he'll be better than that, just because of the way the rehab has gone. The fact he is going through this a second time, he has much more knowledge and familiarity and just the experience of having gone through it. The fact that we're going to give him that much more time we think should only be good for him and his performance.”
Acuña understands the value of doing whatever necessary to increase the odds of him getting the most out of his tremendous talents over an extended stretch of time.
“When I stay healthy, I can do everything,” Acuña said.
Before Acuña hit 41 homers and stole 73 bases in 2023, no player had recorded more than 46 stolen bases during a 40-homer season. Shohei Ohtani obviously did so while constructing his 50-50 season last year.
While Acuña has proven he’s capable of wowing in numerous ways, will he continue trying to do “everything” on the field once he returns this year?
“I need to take it easy a little bit,” Acuña said, indicating he may decrease his stolen base attempt total while allowing Austin Riley, Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson to drive him in with their power.
“Knowing Ronald, he’s saying that now, but he’s so competitive once he gets back on the field,” Anthopoulos said.
Even with a decreased stolen base total, Acuña has the power and arm necessary to re-establish himself as one of the game’s elite players. And yes, he did see that he ranked No. 16 on MLB Network’s latest list of the game’s Top 100 players.
“That’s fine,” Acuña said. “Last year, I couldn’t play. But if I stay healthy this year, I’ll be in the Top 10 next year.”