On Tuesday, Alex Anthopoulos confirmed in an interview with 92.9 The Game that the Braves will be exercising Ozzie Albies’ $7 million club option for the 2026 season.

Albies is coming off the worst offensive year of his career, slashing .240/.292/.379 with 16 home runs and a .671 OPS over 157 games. Still, that level of production is more than enough to justify a $7 million option, especially since it comes with a $4 million buyout.

The bigger question now is whether the Braves will look to add some insurance at second base this offseason. Much of Albies’ struggles came in the first half, which could have been the lingering effects of a wrist injury he suffered in 2024. Once he got further removed from that issue, he began to resemble his All-Star form again, hitting .272 with a .769 OPS over his final 62 games.

Those improvements eased many of the concerns surrounding his long-term outlook. That is, until he suffered yet another wrist injury, breaking his hamate bone during the final week of the season. That setback makes it impossible to know exactly what version of Ozzie Albies the Braves will get next year.

Still, with so many other holes to address on the roster, Anthopoulos may have no choice but to roll the dice and hope his star second baseman can stay healthy and regain his form in 2026.

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Photo: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire