Acuña to Join Braves in LA, Soler Improving

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will continue to rehab his knee with the club in LA. Jorge Soler update.

Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will be among familiar faces as he'll join the club on their road trip in LA. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Ronald Acuña Jr. is reported to be continuing his rehab with the big league club this weekend as the Atlanta Braves play a three-game interleague series against the Los Angeles Angels. 

He has a locker in the Braves clubhouse during the series and is staying at the team’s hotel.
Acuña has been in Los Angeles rehabbing from his knee surgery. Those who did the procedure on him can continue to monitor him if he stays out there. 

Consider this a good chance for him to get a familiar scene with his teammates as he goes through the process. 

A very important Ronald Acuña Jr. update from @HannaRaeYates🥹 pic.twitter.com/ZhR9KKirgt

— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) August 17, 2024

Acuña Jr. has been out since May 26 with a torn ACL. He will not be playing again this season but should be back for the start of 2025. 

Even with his slow start before his injury, the Braves have certainly felt his absence. Just a season ago, Acuna was the National League MVP batting .337 with 41 home runs, 106 RBIs and a 1.012 OPS. It’s hard to fill that hole and most outfield bats haven’t been able to be half as good since he went on the 60-Day Injured List. 

In 49 games before his injury, Acuña batted .250 with four home runs, 15 RBIs and a .716 OPS. 

Soler’s Hamstring Showing Improvement

Outfielder Jorge Soler has reported that his hamstring is improving. However, he is out of the lineup on Friday night to open the Angels series and shouldn’t expect to play most of this series if not all of it.

Given that they just had Michael Harris II return from the 60-Day because of a hamstring injury, it’s best they’re erring on the side of caution. It would be worth missing him for a few games to ensure they have a key bat down the stretch.

It’s still a blow regardless as Soler was heating up before his injury. In his last nine games, Soler is batting .355 with four home runs, 10 RBIs and a 1.280 OPS. 

Soler exited Wednesday night’s game after experiencing hamstring tightness running down the first-base line in the top of the fourth inning.