The Braves have been without Ronald Acuña Jr. since June 10, but the superstar is close to returning.
He is currently on a rehab assignment, and manager Walt Weiss did not rule out him retruning for Friday night's matchup against the Baltimore Orioles.
"A lot of it depends on how he performs, really," Weiss said before Acuña's rehab start on Thursday, per MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "He's got to feel right about his timing and all that stuff. So I'm hoping he gets a couple of hits tonight and he feels good about it."
Unfortunately, Acuña went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout in the game. The game was cut short because of rain, and he only played eight innings. However, he has done solid work on his rehab assignment overall.
In eight games between the FCL Braves and Triple-A Gwinnett, he has five hits, a home run, six RBIs and five walks. He also has a stolen base.
"Physically, he's good to go," Weiss said. "This is all about him being ready to be impactful when he gets here."
Acuña has a .793 OPS in the big leagues this year, but that includes a very slow start at the plate for him. In his last 21 big league games, he had five home runs, a .270 batting average and an OPS over .900. The 2023 MVP was heating up at the plate, and the Braves will want him to pick up right where he left off when he's back in the big leagues.