Initially, there were hopes that Ronald Acuña Jr. could return to the field by early May, and everything seemed on track until recently. Acuña was cleared by doctors in Los Angeles to ramp up his activities, which was the final step before starting a rehab assignment. However, that clearance came over two weeks ago, on April 15th, and there’s still no clear timeline for his return. A date for his rehab assignment hasn’t been set, making a mid-May return increasingly unlikely.

As noted by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, the Braves have yet to set a specific return date for Acuña, but there’s optimism that he could rejoin the team by the end of May. Although a few more weeks of waiting are expected, this gives hope for his eventual return. Assuming there are no setbacks, the Braves could announce a rehab assignment soon, but until then, it’s hard to predict exactly when he’ll be back in the major league lineup.

The Braves have been very cautious with Acuña’s recovery, and that approach will continue once he begins playing in actual games. He will need a couple of weeks in the minors to get back into form, so a late-May return seems the most realistic. Despite this setback, the Braves’ offense has remained strong, ranking near the top in several categories since their rough 0-7 start to the season. However, for their success to continue, especially with the current state of the pitching staff, a healthy Acuña will be crucial to their lineup.