The Atlanta Braves have every reason to begin to wonder if it is time to turn the page on second baseman Ozzie Albies.
Two years ago, such a thought would be a ridiculous notion for a franchise cornerstone. However, Albies has since missed extensive time with a 2024 injury and returned in 2025 to put together the worst season of his career. With declining defensive value and Albies establishing himself as one of the league's worst qualified hitters, it is time for the Braves to begin debating what exactly the future of the team's middle infield will be.
Braves Should be Concerned About Ozzie Albies Amid 2025 Struggles
Albies is hitting .220 with declining power numbers and a free-swinging approach that often results in key outs at the worst possible moments. If the rest of Atlanta's lineup was clicking as expected, this wouldn't be quite as glaring.
Unfortunately for both Albies and Braves' fans, this is the case with Nick Allen, Sean Murphy, Michael Harris, and Albies all dealing with varying degrees of offensive struggles. This has helped shine a spotlight on the infielder and continues to leave questions as to what exactly has gone wrong.
The 2025 MLB season is beyond its halfway point, and the lack of production has continued for Albies. It's important to remember that his poor performance isn't just a tough month or an injury causing his numbers to drop. This has been months of sustained offensive struggles for a player who is supposed to be one of the most important pieces in Atlanta's lineup.
This leaves the Braves' front office weighing not only the future of the position long term, but also moving into the 2026 season. Albies has a $7 million club option that the team could opt to move on from if they believe there is a better option, which he'll have to decide on before the next MLB offseason begins.
A player who appeared poised for an obvious extension is now in danger of losing his starting role altogether. While there aren't many interesting stories left for Braves fans to follow in the 2025 season, this is one.
How Albies finishes the year and if the Braves find any production from Nacho Alvarez are stories to watch as the team attempts to determine if this is simply a bad year, or something deeper for a player who has been a franchise star.