Camila Sosa
The long wait to see Ronald Acuña Jr. back on the field ended Thursday after the Atlanta Braves activated the Venezuelan outfielder from the injured list.
According to the team’s press office, Acuña Jr. was called up from Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate Gwinnett. There, he could see action as part of his rehabilitation process due to a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee he suffered in the middle of last season and which kept him out of action for nine months.
The stellar outfielder will serve as first baseman and right fielder for Brian Snitker’s team, trying to awaken a team that has not had its best start to the season after winning last year’s World Series.
While the return of Ronald Acuña Jr. was scheduled for next week, Eddie Rosario’s right eye surgery will keep him out for almost two months, what probably prompted the management and the coaching staff to bring forward Acuña’s return.
Besides, it was also reported that the Braves plan to give playing time to Acuña Jr. as designated hitter, this, while his body fully recovers from so much time without seeing action at the highest level of competition.
In this position, he will share playing time with Marcell Ozuna: the Dominican whose defense is underestimated and who has taken advantage of the implementation of the designated hitter in the National League to take some turns in this role.
In addition to his return, the Braves are excited about the work of Ronald Acuña Jr. during his brief stint in the minors, as he looked good physically and did not lack in offense, batting 19-7 with six tickets and six strikeouts.
A Review of Ronald Acuña Jr.’s Career
In 2018, Acuña Jr. made his major league debut with Atlanta and won the National League Rookie of the Year award. Since his arrival in the circuit, he never stopped being a true star. And proof of this is that last season when, before his injury, he had numbers worthy of an MVP by connecting 24 home runs and towing 52 runs in 82 games played.
This will be the fifth season for Ronald Acuña Jr. in the majors, where in addition to Rookie of the Year he has attended two All-Star Games, won two Silver Bats and in 2019 became just the second player in league history to join the club of 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a single season before the age of 22 along with Mike Trout.
We will see if the Venezuelan is able to put his tough injury behind him and help Atlanta, since they have not started off on the right foot in its title defense.
