ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and right-hander Spencer Strider are ever-so close to returning from their respective injuries.
Acuña is set to begin a rehab assignment at the Florida Complex Rookie League in North Port on Tuesday. Acuña will play outfield and be monitored for a potential transfer to either Double-A Columbus or Triple-A Gwinnett before his return to the big leagues, but there’s no timetable for when that’ll be just yet.
“He’s starting his march back,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It will be good to just get him running around in the outfield again and getting him at-bats.”
Acuña tore his left ACL in May of last year and had surgery on June 6, 2024, limiting him to just 49 games. The hit .250 with four homers in 2024, one year after hitting 41 home runs with 73 steals and a .337 batting average en route to a National League MVP Award.
It was the second ACL reconstruction surgery for the now 27-year-old, who underwent right ACL reconstruction in 2021.
Needless to say, his presence will be a welcome one. Entering Monday night’s opener of a four-game series against the Nationals, the Braves had scored three or fewer runs in five of their last six games.
Spencer Strider to throw a simulated game
Right-hander Spencer Strider will throw a simulated game on Wednesday, according to Snitker.
The plan is for Strider to throw 70-75 pitches in five innings before a decision is made for him to either complete a rehab assignment or reinstate him from the injured list.
Strider returned to the mound last month and made just one start before a hamstring strain placed him back on the injured list. He struck out five across five innings of work against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 16.
“The hamstring is good to go,” Snitker said. “We need him to be able to go 85 pitches or maybe 90 when we decide for him to start a game.”
Strider made just two starts last season before UCL internal brace surgery on April 12, 2024. Strider finished fourth in 2023 NL Young Award voting and was an All-Star, going 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA and a major league-best 281 strikeouts.
Whenever he’s healthy, Strider will join Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach and AJ Smith-Shawver in the rotation. Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes would be in the mix for that final rotation spot, but have ERAs close to 5.00. Holmes could see himself back in the bullpen, where he opened the season.
How to watch Braves on Gray
Gray Media will simulcast these 15 Atlanta Braves games throughout the Southeast this season.
Fans can watch the Braves on Gray by tuning into PeachtreeTV, Atlanta’s CW Network. Fans can also watch games on YouTube TV, over the air on channel 17.1 and on channel 17 on Dish Network and DirecTV and channel 7 on Xfinity and Spectrum.
If you are in another market outside of Atlanta, you can find your channel at BravesOnGray.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.