ATLANTA -- Braves manager Brian Snitker and Ozzie Albies have experienced a lot together over the past decade, going all the way back to 2016, when they spent a couple weeks together with Triple-A Gwinnett.
So, it seemed only fitting that they shared another big moment together as the Braves claimed a 4-1 win over the Cubs on Monday night at Truist Park. This was Snitker’s 800th victory as a Major League manager and it came with help from Albies’ homer in a three-run first inning.
“He’s just one of those guys you become attached to, I’ve been around him so long now,” Snitker said. “I tell him he’s stuck with me for the rest of his life.”
As the Braves play out the remainder of what will likely be their first losing season since 2017, they are making many different assessments. They have loved what they have seen from Bryce Elder, who enhanced confidence about next year’s rotation depth by limiting the Cubs to one run over 6 2/3 innings.
He has a 1.36 ERA over his past four starts. That’s not bad considering, the 2023 All-Star entered the first of those four starts with a 6.21 ERA through his first 21 starts of the season.
There’s also reason to question what role Snitker will fill next year, which will be his 50th consecutive within the Braves’ organization. There’s been an expectation throughout this season that he’ll retire when his contract expires at the end of this season. But he hasn’t publicly voiced his plans.
Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos was also non-committal when asked about Snitker’s future. The veteran skipper is 69, the same age his mentor, Bobby Cox, was when he retired.
“Those are things we always address at the end of the year,” Anthopoulos said.
While it’s not believable that the manager’s future hasn’t been discussed less than three weeks from the regular-season finale, Albies is at least fortunate that his future wasn’t determined on July 13, when he entered the All-Star break with the sixth-worst OPS (.606) among qualified MLB players.
Albies has hit .286 with nine homers and an .830 OPS since the break. In doing so, he has halted the questions about whether the Braves should exercise his $7 million option ($4 million buyout) for 2026.
“Whatever happens, happens,” Albies said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Even with the second half resurgence, Anthopoulos wasn’t willing to commit to saying Albies’ option will be exercised, But he would seemingly have a lot of explaining to do if he doesn’t bring the beloved second baseman back.
Cubs starter Shota Imanaga can certainly attest to Albies’ restored power. The three-time All-Star’s homer that fueled Monday’s three-run first came off the bat at 108.1 mph. This was the hardest-hit of the infielder’s 16 homers this year. It was even more impressive than the homer (104.4 mph exit velo) he hit against Imanaga last week in Wrigley.
Along with hitting the ball harder on a more consistent basis, Albies is back to being a threat from the right side of the plate. The switch-hitter went homerless in his first 138 at-bats from the right side. But Monday’s solo shot gave him four homers in a span of 20 at-bats against left-handed pitchers going back to Aug. 26.
“It just took him a while to get that part going,” Snitker said. “We all know how electric he can be when he gets his game going there.”
Even as it’s become apparent he has gotten stronger as the season has progressed, Albies has never used last year’s left wrist fracture as an excuse for his early season struggles. He persevered and now finds himself with a chance for a 20-homer season and a .700-plus OPS.
This certainly wasn’t envisioned a couple months ago, when there was reason to question how much longer he would extend a Braves tenure that dated back to 2017, when he made his MLB debut with Snitker as his manager.
“I’ve always said, if you play the game the way Ozzie does, you're going to play it right,” Snitker said. “He’s got a lot of respect for the game. He loves to play it with a lot of enthusiasm.”