Before the season, a potential early May return for Ronald Acuña Jr. was reportedly possible, and everything appeared to be on the right track until recently.

Acuña was cleared by doctors out in Los Angeles to ramp up his activities, the last hurdle before beginning a rehab assignment.

However, that was over two weeks ago — on April 15th — and there’s still no timetable for his return. A date to begin his rehab assignment has not been set, and it doesn’t look like a mid-May return is even plausible at this point.

“Speaking of the injury front, the Braves haven’t set a specific timetable for Ronald Acuña Jr.’s return,” MLB.com’s Mark Bowman wrote in his latest newsletter. “But the 2023 NL MVP could return to Atlanta’s lineup by the end of May. Though possibly still a few weeks away, this provides another reason to be optimistic about where the Braves are heading.”

Providing there have not been any setbacks, it feels as if an announcement from the Braves regarding a rehab assignment could come any day now. But until that happens, it’s impossible to know when he will join the major-league club.

The Braves have clearly been incredibly cautious this time around, and that’s not going to change once Acuña takes the field for the first time in a real game.

He’ll need at least a couple of weeks to get his feet under him in the minors, meaning a late May return feels like the earliest he will return to Atlanta.

Despite that, the Braves offense has been fantastic of late. Ranking near the top in damn near every offensive category since their 0-7 start to the season. But for that to continue, and they’ll need it to given the current state of the pitching staff, the Braves need a healthy Ronald Acuña Jr. back in the lineup.