Getting both of these players back and healthy would be huge for Atlanta.
The Atlanta Braves announced Friday morning that Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ha-Seong Kim would be transferred to Triple-A Gwinnett to continue their rehabilitation assignments.
Acuña strained his left hamstring on June 9, leading to his placement on the 10-day injured list. He has missed more than a month, and in the meantime, the Braves’ offense has really struggled without one of its most impactful bats in the lineup. Acuña showed off his power with the Braves’ Florida Complex League team Thursday, hitting a long grand slam over the left-field fence. It was his only hit in seven at-bats with the team before he was moved to Triple-A.
Ha-Seong Kim is progressing from an injury he suffered in January, when he slipped on ice and tore a tendon in his middle finger while home in South Korea. He missed all of spring training and did not make his Braves debut until May 12. However, after struggling at the plate, the team placed him on the injured list retroactive to July 1, so his stint away from the team has been shorter than Acuña’s.
Kim was hitting an abysmal .068 in 82 plate appearances with a .239 OPS. Meanwhile, Acuña had a roller-coaster season while healthy, at times struggling and at other times showing off his elite-level power by hitting five home runs in four games from the leadoff spot.
The Braves had the best record in baseball for a big chunk of the first half of the season, but they ended on a negative note, losing five of their last 10 games and 12 of their last 20. They still hold the advantage in the NL East, but it is narrow, with a 2.5-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Getting both Acuña and Kim back — healthy, I might add — will be a big boost for this Atlanta team and, to use the usual quip, will be just as good as a trade acquisition. That is, unless they make a big splash and trade for Tarik Skubal, a move they are rumored to be interested in making.
In 24 games with the Braves in 2025, Kim hit .253 with three home runs and a .684 OPS. Atlanta badly needs someone to make up for the lack of production from Austin Riley and to support the good seasons being put together by Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson.
It sounds like the Braves could be a week or so away from getting both Acuña and Kim back with the big league club.
