Braves get their superstar back for the playoff push

The Braves activated Ronald Acuña Jr. from the injured list, ending a 38-game absence that coincided with one of the worst offensive stretches in baseball. Atlanta hit.236/.303/.392 as a team since he went down, a 90 wRC+ that ranked 24th in MLB. That stat line tells you exactly how much this lineup was leaning on him even in a season where he hadn't looked fully like himself.

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Braves Activate Ronald Acuña Jr. t.co/fN3ewtmZWS

This is the second time Acuña has cycled through the IL this year, both stints tied to the same left hamstring. He missed roughly 2 weeks in May with the initial strain, came back, then reaggravated it 3 weeks later on June 9, which triggered the longer 38-game shutdown. The Braves reportedly took a more cautious approach the second time around, not wanting to rush a guy who's already dealt with a torn ACL earlier in his career.

Even in a down year by his own absurd standards, Acuña's numbers before the injury were still plenty useful:.251/.373/.421 with 7 home runs, 10 doubles and 15 stolen bases in 53 games. A 121 wRC+ isn't peak Acuña, but it's a massive upgrade over what Atlanta's been running out there without him. Brewer Hicklen got optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to make room, which says everything about how the Braves value the return.

Atlanta sits atop the NL East, and getting a former MVP back into that lineup at the end of July is exactly the kind of jolt a contender wants heading into the stretch run. Fantasy managers and bettors are already treating this as a swing event — a healthy Acuña changes the math on Atlanta's over/unders and lineup projections overnight, assuming the hamstring actually holds up this time.

The Braves reunite with him in New York for a series against the Mets, a fitting spot given the division race. Whether he's fully himself again after two hamstring strains in one season is the real question — but for a team that's been scraping by offensively for over a month, just having him in the box is a win.