"The longest-tenured player on the Atlanta Braves looked to rebound from injury in 2025, but instead struggled mightily for more than half the season, bringing into to question his future with the only organization he has known. Ozzie Albies was signed as an international free agent by the Braves in 2013 and made his major league debut with Atlanta on August 1, 2017. About 20 months later, he signed one of the silliest extensions in MLB, securing just $35 million for seven years of service, with two very cheap club options tacked on as well."
"What were the expectations? From 2020-onward, Albies had alternated good and bad seasons. He was hurt in 2020, but rebounded in 2021; he missed most of 2022 and wasn't particularly good when healthy, but then had a huge 2023 offensively, even as his defense collapsed. 2024 was a subpar season for him with both and the bat and the glove, which could have suggested another strong campaign in 2025... though that's not what happened."
"Until a freak hand injury he suffered on the follow-through of a swing with less than a week left in the season, Albies had played in every game in 2025. The results? Well ... they ended up not great, to say the least. He posted career-worst 87 wRC+, another below-average defensive year, and 1.3 fWAR for the second year in a row... except it took him 667 PAs to amass the 2025 total while he did so in 435 PAs in 2024."
Ozzie Albies, the Braves' longest-tenured player, signed as an international free agent in 2013 and debuted in 2017, later signing a low-cost long-term extension. His performance has alternated across seasons, with injuries affecting 2020 and 2022, a strong offensive 2023 paired with defensive decline, and a subpar 2024. Projections expected an above-average bat with below-average defense, but 2025 produced career-worst offensive marks (87 wRC+) and another below-average defensive year. Albies played every game until a late-season follow-through hand injury, finishing with 1.3 fWAR across 667 plate appearances.
Read at Battery Power
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]