Ronald Acuña Jr. (hamstring) takes BP before game

Weiss confirmed last week that Acuña was a long shot to return to Atlanta’s lineup before the All-Star break. However, it sounds like there’s optimism he’ll make it back shortly afterwards. The 28-year-old has been brought along slowly in his recovery from a left hamstring strain that’s necessitated a pair of injured list stint since early May. There should be a clearer idea of his return timeline once he gets into a couple minor league contests, most likely in the Rookie-level Florida Coast League, at some point next week.

Acuña went through a pregame workout at Truist Park prior to Tuesday’s game against the Cardinals as he continues to be brought along slowly from a left hamstring strain that’s required a pair of injured list stints since early May. There’s zero incentive for Atlanta to rush him back too quickly and risk a setback, but it sounds like there’s a chance he’ll make it back in mid-to-late July.

MLB.com’s Mark Bowman adds that Atlanta is going to exercise a fair bit of caution with Acuña’s rehabilitation process since the hamstring injury is in the same spot as the previous strain that kept him sidelined for three weeks earlier this season. The 28-year-old fantasy superstar was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain last week. It’s hardly an official return timetable, but it sounds like fantasy managers shouldn’t anticipate Acuña returning until after next month’s All-Star break.

Weiss expressed confidence earlier this week that Acuña’s latest hamstring injury wasn’t as serious as the one that cost him nearly three weeks back in early May. The 28-year-old fantasy superstar hit the injured list prior to Wednesday’s game against the White Sox after an MRI revealed a low-grade strain. It sounds like there’s a strong possibility that he makes it back to Atlanta before the end of June. However, there isn’t an official return timetable from the club yet.

Braves manager Walt Weiss said late Tuesday that Acuña was day-to-day and that they didn’t think the injury was as severe as the previous hamstring injury that kept him out for 17 days last month. However, an MRI today must have told a different story. Acuña will miss at least the next 10 days, and potentially longer, since the Braves have a comfortable lead in the NL East and will want to make sure their star player is healthy. Soft tissue injuries tend to recur, and Acuña has also had two knee surgeries, so even though he has 15 steals already this season, there is a chance that the collection of lower-body injuries may keep him from reaching the heights we saw in 2023. Eli White should see regular starts in the outfield while Acuña is sidelined.

Braves manager Walt Weiss told reporters afterwards that Acuña is day-to-day and will undergo an MRI to to determine the severity of the issue, which will determine whether he’ll require a trip to the injured list. The 28-year-old fantasy superstar came up limping following an attempt to beat out a fourth-inning chopper up the third-base line. A definitive update on his status should arrive prior to Wednesday’s showdown in Chicago.

Acuña came up limping after attempting to beat out a fourth-inning ground ball down the third-base line. He was immediately replaced by Eli White in right field. He finished 0-for-2 with a strikeout out of the leadoff spot. He’ll undergo further evaluation to determine the severity of the issue. There should be an update on his status shortly.

The 28-year-old superstar beat out an infield single to lead off the third inning off of Chad Dallas. He then swiped second base, advanced to third on a single and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Matt Olson. That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the night. With his recent tear at the plate, Acuña is now slashing .249/.373/.431 to go with seven homers, 21 RBI and 14 stolen bases on the season.

Acuña has homered in four straight games, amassing five homers, nine RBI, seven walks and four steals during the span. It’s raised his OPS from .695 to .821.

The two-homer, two-steal game is a first for Acuña and just the 23rd time it’s happened in major league history. Juan Soto on Aug. 30 and Mickey Moniak on Sept. 7 both did it last year, and Shohei Ohtani accomplished it in his absurd 6-for-6, three-homer, 10-RBI game on Sept. 19, 2024. Chipper Jones in 1999, Rafael Furcal in 2005 and Ender Inciarte in 2017 were the previous Braves to pull off the feat. Acuña has homered in three straight games and is up to .246/.369/.419 on the season.