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In his first game action since tearing his ACL last July 10, Braves superstar Ronald Acuña, Jr. didn't seem too rusty. He flied out to center field in his first plate appearance, but in his second, he nearly homered. He settled for a double instead. 

Acuña would ground out in his third and final plate appearance, but a 1 for 3 day is plenty acceptable, especially since the primary focus is getting reps and testing the rebuilt knee in game action. His rehab assignment continues with Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday afternoon. Rehab assignments can last up to 20 days for position players, but the likelihood is Acuña won't need that long. 

"I didn't know if I would come back and be the same. Now, I'm healthy again. Actually, I feel I'm better than I was," Acuña said (via The Athletic). 

He also agreed that a return during a Braves home stand starting on May 6 could work, though he plans to be back sooner than that. 

Acuña, 24, was having an MVP-caliber season in 2021 when he went down with the knee injury. He was hitting .283/.394/.596 (155 OPS+) with 19 doubles, 24 home runs, 52 RBI, 72 runs, 17 steals and a 3.6 WAR in roughly a half season. As a 21 year old in 2019, Acuña's only full season to this point, he finished fifth in NL MVP voting after leading the league in runs and steals while coming just three stolen bases shy of a 40-40 year. 

The Braves went on to win the World Series without Acuña last season, but they are a much better team with him on the field. Entering Wednesday, Atlanta owns a 6-7 record. The Braves are attempting to become the first MLB team to repeat as World Series champions in more than two decades.