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The Atlanta Braves have a tough decision in the offseason with Ozzie Albies as the veteran infielder has been abysmal this season.
His poor play also affects his trade value as the end of the regular season approaches. Braves insider Dave O’Brien from The Athletic believes Albies will be back with the team next year.
“It seems likely Albies will be back, since his affordable $7 million team option comes with a pricey $4 million buyout,” wrote O’Brien. “But his offense has declined steadily, with his .849 OPS and 126 OPS+ in 2023 standing as his only season in the past four in which he posted an OPS as high as .710 or an OPS+ higher than 93.”
One bad season can be chalked up to just that: a bad season. Two consecutive seasons of poor offensive play is concerning. With just $3 million difference between his team option and buyout, it doesn’t really help out much financially to move on from him. O’Brien didn’t hold back though in his evaluation of Albies’ play.
“Considering a 100 OPS+ is the baseline for an average MLB player, that’s unacceptable,” he wrote. “Albies has hit just .229 with a .629 OPS this season with a 77 OPS+, all of which would be career lows. He’s 28 but has played like a post-peak player, and has one of the worst throwing arms in baseball. … Only if they get a serious bat for shortstop could they justify having Albies back at second base, and even then, it would probably be because of his contract and his track record — two Silver Slugger Awards, three All-Star appearances — and the hope he could get back to some semblance of that.”
The options for that “big bat” in free agency at shortstop are very slim which means Atlanta has to go all in for those players or look to make that addition via trade. The Braves will have their hands full in the offseason.
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