Flashes of brilliance and rust in Ronald Acuña Jr.’s first rehab game with Gwinnett

But some uncharacteristic misplays in right field suggested there’s some rust to shake off. Acuña dropped a routine fly in the top of the fourth, allowing the ball to hit the heel of his glove and fall to the grass.

In the top of the fifth, he appeared to break late on a ground-ball single to right. When the next batter hit a ball down the right-field line, Acuña fielded it but had trouble with the throw, which was into the turf and bounced more than once before reaching the cutoff man, allowing a runner to score.

“That’s the first time,” Acuña said of his defensive adventures. “I don’t make excuses. I’m just having fun. I just want to try to play every day and see what happens.”

His final play in the field before he exited the game after the sixth inning was possibly both another indication of rust but also a sign of trust in his knee. On a fly ball to right in the top of the sixth, Acuña at first retreated towards the warning track before realizing the ball wasn’t hit that hard. He planted with his left foot and charged forward, firing off the surgically repaired knee. He turned on a short sprint and made the catch. It was possibly the most stringent test of his left knee in the game, and he seemed to handle it without problem.

“I’m feeling great with my knee,” Acuña said. “I’m working hard to prepare for that moment.”

What to make of the misplays?

The dropped fly ball looked as though he played the ball too casually. Reacting late to the single and then practically throwing the ball into the ground – who can say?

It was the second game of his rehab assignment after playing with the Braves’ Florida Complex League team on Tuesday in North Port, Fla. These have been his first live games in nearly a year after tearing his ACL on May 26, 2024 in Pittsburgh.

Whatever hesitation or unease Acuña might be feeling back out on the field, it is understandable for a player who hadn’t played in a game in almost a year and has torn both of his ACLs.

At the plate, to whatever degree Triple-A pitching is an accurate gauge, he looked ready to do damage. Batting leadoff in the first inning, he hit a single through the hole at 106 miles per hour. Before he could test himself on the base paths, No. 2 hitter Jarred Kelenic hit a grounder to second. Acuña jogged to second before he was forced out.

He was retired in his next at-bat on a foul pop to first. In his third and final plate appearance, he drove a 93-mph fastball to the left-center wall for a double. He wore a brace over his left knee at the plate but not in the field.

“I just want to make good contact, be on time, be ready when the pitcher’s throwing and have fun,” Acuña said.

This much would seem clear. Acuña displayed the joy that defines his game. During batting practice, he let loose screams of satisfaction after blasting home runs. Between his rounds in the cage, he sang into his bat and danced. During another break, he played with a football, hunching over it like a long snapper and dropping back to pass before tossing the ball straight up in the air. When he came to the plate, he signaled to the crowd to encourage cheers.

“He’s a happy-go-lucky kid,” Stripers manager Kanekoa Texeira told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He has a good time. When he’s in that mode, you know he’s going to be pretty dangerous when he gets on the field.”

Speaking with media after coming out of the game after the sixth inning, his bright smile seemed most genuine.

“When you play baseball, it’s the best feeling ever,” Acuña said. “When you come back (from) two injuries, like this, I’m so excited. I can’t explain it.”

Texeira said that the plan, as communicated by the Braves, was for Acuña to play Thursday and Friday, take Saturday off and play again Sunday.

“And I don’t know what happens after that,” he said.

Acuña’s first game in Gwinnett, his first back there since 2022, is in the books. As for when he’ll be back in the majors, that appears undetermined. He was asked about the possibility of facing his brother Luisangel when the New York Mets come to Truist Park June 17-19.

“I’m ready for that moment,” he said. “I’m so excited. I don’t know when I can play with the major-league team, but I’ll be ready when they call me.”