The Atlanta Braves would much rather still be playing baseball right now.
But only one team can win the World Series each season, and it again won’t be the Braves in 2026.
They bowed out on Wednesday night in the NLDS, falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games in the best-of-five series. The Dodgers will continue their quest for a three-peat, while the Braves will again have to search for ways to topple L.A. in seasons ahead.
At least one decision they have is going to be quite easy.
Ozzie Albies technically presents the Braves with a contract choice, but it’s not much of a choice at all.
Ozzie Albies Contract
The Braves continue to have Albies on one of the best bargain contracts in the sport, and they’ll have that for one more year.
Albies’ 2027 season in his deal is technically a club option. That means that the team gets to decide whether to exercise it.
If a team declines a club option, the player becomes a free agent.
But here’s the kicker — the Albies club option for 2027 is at just a $7 million salary.
That’s not even half of what he would get on the open market, and it’s also what Albies just played for in 2026 — which was the first of two club option years built onto the end of the deal.
Very early in his career, Albies signed a contract for seven years and $35 million. It gave him guaranteed long-term security with the risk of not maximizing his value in the long haul if he became a star.
Albies blossomed, and the Braves had themselves a bargain.
After the 2027 season, Albies will be a free agent, and then he might be able to get a bigger deal. But for now, the Braves will have him on a superb salary for one more year.
Ozzie Albies Stats
Albies will turn 30 in January, and he’s already a four-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger winner and a 2021 World Series champion.
This season wasn’t the best of his career, as Albies had a .685 OPS, but he did appear in all 162 regular season games while hitting 27 doubles, a triple and 22 home runs.
Albies scored 85 runs and drove in 73.
He doesn’t run much anymore, going just 4-for-8 on steals, but he remains a positive player for the Braves, coming in at 1.4 Wins Above Replacement in 2026.
Albies has now played all 1,190 of his MLB games with the Braves, having hit 179 home runs and posted a .762 career OPS. It’s clear Atlanta won the contract negotiations with him, but Albies also has things very well in hand for his future, too.
And his future for at least next year shapes up to remain in Atlanta.
Braves’ Ozzie Albies $7 Million Decision Isn’t Much of a Choice at All