A look back to mid-May 2025, when the Braves superstar began his rehab assignment, a moment of desperate hope for a team mired in a “nightmare” season.
ATLANTA — For Atlanta Braves fans, the 2025 season (which concluded with a disappointing 68-83 record) was defined by injuries and setbacks. But in mid-May, the team received its first piece of “good news.”
On May 13, 2025, star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. officially began a rehab assignment, signaling he was close to returning from the torn left ACL he sustained at the end of May 2024.
The news was a lifeline for a team that was struggling to stay afloat.
The Long Road Back
Acuña began his assignment at the team’s complex in North Port, playing in the Florida Complex Rookie League. He immediately made an impact, homering in his first rehab game. The plan was to re-evaluate him daily before sending him to Triple-A Gwinnett, the final step in his recovery.
“It’ll be a day-to-day thing there too,” then-manager Brian Snitker said at the time. “They’ll re-evaluate him again… but it’ll just be good to get him running around in the outfield again.”
Acuña was eventually activated on May 23, 2025, and had a spectacular return, hitting .336 with 11 home runs in his first 41 games back and earning his fifth All-Star selection.
A “Less-Than-Ideal” Outfield Crisis
Acuña’s rehab couldn’t come fast enough. The Braves were facing a crisis in their outfield, missing both of their star corner outfielders.
Aside from Acuña’s year-long recovery, the team’s prized free-agent signing, Jurickson Profar, was serving an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance. Profar, who had signed a three-year, $42 million deal in January, was ineligible to return until the end of June.
This left the Braves, who were 19-21 at the time of Acuña’s rehab announcement, to rely on players like Eli White to fill the void. Despite Acuña’s brilliant personal comeback, the combination of widespread injuries and Profar’s suspension ultimately proved too much for the team to overcome.
