ATLANTA -- Ozzie Albies will have to prove his ugly first half wasn’t a sign of things to come. But the veteran second baseman has at least started the season’s second half in a manner that has at least strengthened hope this might not be his last year with the Braves.
Albies hit a three-run homer for the second straight game and added a two-run single before the Braves' bullpen imploded in a 12-9 loss to the Yankees on Saturday night at Truist Park. His nine RBIs through the first two games after the All-Star break are just one less than what he totaled over the final 41 games before the break.
“We had the four days off,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “So, maybe he was able to relax and clear his mind. By doing that, hopefully that’s something that will start him on a path to do something really good these next 60 games.”
Albies has hit three of this season’s nine homers within his past six games. Is this a sign that he’s regaining some of the strength he might have lost when he missed most of last year’s second half with a left wrist fracture? During a 36-game span from May 30-July 9, he went homerless and totaled just five extra-base hits over 133 at-bats.
This is not what you’d expect from a 28-year-old who had a 30-homer season in 2021 and another in 2023. So, this year’s struggles created reason to wonder if the wrist was an issue.
“I cannot use that as an excuse,” Albies said. “I mean, the strength is there. It's just, you know, when your string is not good. You can put [up] numbers, and you can't hit the ball hard.”
How crazy was this slugfest that was decided by the Yankees tallying 12 runs and four home runs over the final five innings against Atlanta’s bullpen?
Well, Albies homering on consecutive nights wasn’t even the most unpredictable development. Nor was Joey Wentz keeping the Yankees scoreless over four innings in his first start at any level since 2023. Nor was the fact that Albies and Michael Harris II homered in the same game.
It was the fact that all of this happened on the same day that Harris drew his first walk within a span of 179 plate appearances that went back to May 18. His 178 PAs without a walk are the most by a Braves position player since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966.
The Braves' offense has been burdened by Harris, who produced MLB’s worst OPS (.551) before the break, and Albies, who produced MLB’s sixth-worst OPS (.606) before the break. But the group has shown some life, scoring at least six runs in five of the past seven games.
Unfortunately for the Braves, it looks like they are going to have to consistently outscore their pitching woes. This was essentially a bullpen game, given Wentz maxed out at four innings. Another bullpen game will likely be necessary against the Giants on Tuesday.
So, while the Braves might still be hoping for the miracle that separates them from an eighth straight postseason berth, the realistic focus should be on decisions like whether to exercise Albies’ $7 million option ($4 million buyout) for the 2026 season. If this option is exercised, his $7 million option for 2027 doesn’t have a buyout.
Has Albies thought about the possibility he might not be with the Braves beyond this year?
“I just go out and play baseball,” Albies said. “That’s all I can do.”
Albies has been a regular in Atlanta’s lineup going back to his 2017 debut. As recently as two years ago, he was still considered one of the game’s best bargains. But he has produced a .669 OPS and totaled just 19 homers over 196 games (847 plate appearances) since the start of 2024.
One of the reasons Albies can’t completely blame the wrist is the fact he hit just eight homers with a .717 OPS in the 90 games he played before he suffered that fracture in July.
But over these next couple months, he can rebound and increase the likelihood he’ll be with the Braves beyond this year.