Albies suffers season-ending left hamate fracture

ATLANTA -- Ozzie Albies’ season ended when he fractured his left hamate bone in an 11-5 win over the Nationals on Monday night at Truist Park. Now, there’s again reason to question whether the Braves should bring the second baseman back next year.

Albies will miss the remainder of the season, as only five games are still to be played. The hope is he’ll be ready for the start of Spring Training. But there’s no guarantee he won’t struggle like he did this year, when dealing with the lingering effects of the left wrist fracture that caused him to miss most of the final two months of the 2024 season.

“This is a different [kind of injury], I think,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I’ve seen guys come back in a month from those. So, I don’t foresee it being a problem for him [in 2026].”

Albies’ injury dulled some of the excitement surrounding Atlanta, which has won nine straight games for the first time since June 24-July 3, 2023.

“He’s such a spark plug, not only for our lineup, but in our clubhouse," Chris Sale said. “For someone who comes in every day and genuinely loves the game and loves being around teammates and always has such a positive attitude, it’s a tough blow to see something like this happen to him.”

This latest left hand/wrist ailment was suffered when Albies fouled a pitch while batting right-handed against Konnor Pilkington in the third inning. He showed some initial signs of discomfort, but remained in the game for one more pitch. He then moved toward the dugout, where he was checked by head athletic trainer George Poulis.

Poulis performed some strength tests before Albies took a practice swing and almost immediately walked toward the clubhouse.

As the Braves evaluate whether to exercise Albies’s $7 million option ($4M buyout) for 2026, they must weigh how this latest left hand/wrist injury could impact him. His struggles during this season’s first half seemed to be a lingering effect of last year’s left wrist ailment.

This is a disappointing conclusion to what had the makings of a satisfying season for Albies, who also saw a fractured foot and fractured finger limit him to 64 games in 2022. He had played in each of Atlanta’s 157 games, and he had produced more like himself during the season’s second half.

Albies constructed a .606 OPS before the All-Star break. But he entered Monday having hit .270 with nine homers and a .767 OPS in the 61 games that had followed.

“He's always a guy that never stops believing in himself,” Snitker said. “He's got a great attitude on a daily basis. I'm glad to see that he kind of got his season going where he wanted.”