A turbulent season for the Atlanta Braves is set to culminate this weekend, and then the real uncertainty begins.
The Braves entered play on Tuesday with a 74-83 record despite an active nine-game winning streak. They’ve been out of the playoff picture entirely for about three months now, and although plenty of injuries contributed to their disappointing season, the lack of meaningful contributions from several stars has been the primary cause of their underachievement.
Second baseman Ozzie Albies, a three-time National League All-Star who should be in his prime at age 28, is by far the toughest struggling player to explain. He’s played in all 157 games and put up career lows in batting average (.240), OPS (.671), and win probability added (negative-2.1).
To top off his miserable season, Albies sustained a hamate bone fracture to his left hand in Monday night’s game, according to a team announcement. He won’t be able to achieve the goal of every player, appearing in all 162 games in a season, and that may be the least of his worries.
On Monday night, Braves insider Mark Bowman of MLB.com suggested that Atlanta may decline its $7 million club option for Albies next season, which would abruptly end a seven-year-old contract extension that was once seen as a massive steal for the Braves.
“This is why it was wise for (president of baseball operations Alex) Anthopoulos to not commit to exercising Albies’ option when asked a couple weeks ago,” Bowman wrote on X. “It looked like a no-brainer. But now you have to evaluate how effective he’d be in 2026 with a significant left hand/wrist injury both of the past two years.”
Hamate bone injuries typically take around six weeks to heal, so Albies should be ready to play by spring training. But Bowman suggested that because Albies struggled early this season after recovering from a wrist injury that limited him to 99 games last year, Atlanta might not be keen on committing to him as its starter.
“It’s not about recovery time” Bowman wrote in response to another X user. “It’s about evaluating how effective he will be next after suffering another left hand/wrist injury. The .606 OPS he had in this year’s first half was influenced by last year’s left wrist fracture. It’s just something that now has to be discussed.”
It would be a severely disappointing ending to a decorated Braves career, including a World Series title, if Albies were to be let go on such a low note, especially before his 30th birthday.
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