As expected based on reports that Atlanta Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. had already traveled to Cleveland in order to meet up with his team as the Braves get set to face the Guardians, today is indeed the day that he’s been reinstated from the 10-Day IL. The team confirmed the news in a social media post:
Acuña ended up missing 15 days after sustaining a right calf
injury. The good news is that this could’ve been far worse since you usually never want to see the word “Achilles” mentioned in sporting conversations unless you’re talking about a team’s weakness or something like that. Nothing was torn and so he was able to take some time off to rest and recuperate. He’s passed all the running and baseball drills so he’s likely ready to go going forward.
I’m sure there’s a lot of questions about whether it’s wise to keep him going during what’s clearly a lost season but at the same time, it’s becoming clear that the team itself isn’t exactly rolling over to end the season. The offense has started to show sustained signs of life since the All-Star break and Acuña has played a significant role in that resurgence with a .306/.429/.577 slash line, 178 wRC+ and 14 home runs so far this season.
In other news, Sandy León has been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett, which is where he’s spent the vast majority of this season so far. León made an appearance as a substitute for Drake Baldwin at catcher during Atlanta’s 13-5 loss to the Mets on Tuesday night and that was just the second appearance that León has made for the Braves at the major league level so far this season.
