The Atlanta Braves were knocked out of the National League postseason by the Los Angeles Dodgers. There’s no shame in that, of course, but it’s the kind of thing that could push a team to drastic measures.
The NL runs through Hollywood until proven otherwise — and in the regular season, it also runs through the Milwaukee Brewers, the former home city of the Braves.
With that in mind, Atlanta’s spot in the NL East Division isn’t all that matters. The Braves have to aim higher in the hopes of getting another World Series title to go with the one they won in 2021.
That creates an interesting offseason ahead for the Braves. They don’t have a lot of free agent decisions to make. They’ve done a good job of getting key players signed to affordable long-term contracts.
But that means that one of the only ways for the Braves to improve is to consider trades. And with most of the roster having been in Atlanta for a while, any trade would be a shock to the fanbase to some extent.
One of the most shocking would be a trade that sends away Ozzie Albies, but that’s something floating around out there as an idea.
Ozzie Albies Trade Rumor
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter names Albies as one of his top-25 trade chips for this offseason — officially ranking him at No. 24 on that list.
It would certainly be a big change, because Albies has been a member of the Braves’ organization since he signed as a 16-year old who still was known by the baseball public as Ozhaino.
“Albies has spent his entire 10-year career with the Braves, tallying 25.7 WAR while earning four All-Star selections and winning two Silver Slugger awards,” Reuter writes. “The surface-level power production was there once again, but he has posted a middling 88 OPS+ and .299 on-base percentage in 1,350 plate appearances the last two years, and the Braves could be ready to move on as part of a larger retooling.”
The suggestion there is that Albies simply may not be good enough to help the Braves make a deep run anymore. Of course, every team in the league has access to stats like that.
Albies’ biggest value is to the team he feels at home with, and the teammates he loves. A Braves trade of Albies could signal that other moves are on their way, too.
More Logical Timeline
The reality here is that Albies is going to play the 2027 season on a $7 million club option. Even with his recent decline, that’s still very affordable for him.
Because of that, the Braves have really no incentive to trade him now unless they got a big offer.
More logical would be a potential trade deadline deal. If Atlanta struggles in the first half, then Albies becomes a candidate to move since he’d be a free agent at the end of the year.
An offseason trade of Albies would jump ship while it seems to be very much afloat and sturdy.
Braves’ Ozzie Albies Arrives at Surprising Trade Outlook