One of baseball's most electric players is set to make his return to the diamond this week.
Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. will be activated from the injured list ahead of Atlanta's game Friday against the San Diego Padres, the team announced Thursday.
Acuna has been out for just under a year after tearing his left ACL on May 26 last season. He underwent surgery on the injury on June 6.
The enigmatic Venezuelan has dominated in his rehab outings with triple-A Gwinnett, hitting .417 with a 1.465 OPS and one home run in five starts.
Before suffering the ACL tear, Acuna was hitting .250 with a .716 OPS along with four home runs and 16 stolen bases in 49 games during the 2024 season.
He was the unanimous winner of the NL MVP in 2023 when he hit .336 with 41 home runs, 106 RBIs and a league-leading 1.012 OPS. Acuña also stole 73 bases that season to become the only player with at least 40 homers and 70 steals in the same season.
The 27-year-old Acuña has 165 homers and 195 stolen bases in 722 career games.
A four-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger, Acuna should bring a big offensive boost to a Braves team desperate for it, as they sit third in the NL East at 24-25. Atlanta is 21st in MLB with 4.1 runs scored per game.
-- With files from the Associated Press
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