The Braves might have saved a lot of resources with these two developments

Among the positive storylines of the second half of the Braves season, Ozzie Albies is really easing the concerns about his future, at least as far as 2026 is concerned.

Albies has a club option worth $7 million for next season, which comes with a $4 million buyout. The decision to pick that up has always been a no-brainer. He’s a three-time All-Star that is a fantastic clubhouse presence who has spent his entire career with the Braves. There’s zero chance Alex Anthopoulos was going to cut ties with him over $3 million. At the very least, it’s worth the gamble to see if he can bounce back.

However, there had to be some internal conversations about potentially looking for another second baseman this offseason in the case that Albies continued to falter. At one point not long ago, Albies was hitting just .222 with a .616 OPS. Given he’s not exactly a gold glove defensive player anymore, that’s not a guy that should be in the lineup every day.

But Albies has looked much more like his old self over the last three weeks. He’s hitting .333 with five homers and an OPS approaching 1.000 in the past 19 games, and what’s been the most encouraging aspect is his success against southpaws.

Ozzie Albies has always been his best against left-handed pitching. He owns a near .900 OPS against lefties in his career, but that hasn’t been the case in 2025, sporting a more pedestrian .673 OPS. However, during this recent stretch, he’s hitting over .400 against southpaws with a couple of homers, his only home runs versus left-handed pitching this season.

Since the All-Star break, Albies is performing much closer to his career averages, hitting .278 with an OPS just a hair below .800. That’s who he has been his entire career, and perhaps the wrist injury he suffered last year really did impact his performance to begin the season.

The feeling that the Braves need to go out and get another second baseman this offseason has subsided considerably. A little insurance might not be a bad idea, especially given Albies’ injury history, but it’s no longer a top priority like it might have seemed a couple of months ago.

Couple his improved play with the acquisition of Ha-Seong Kim, who the Braves claimed off waivers from the Rays earlier in the week, and the middle infield might be set in Atlanta for 2026. Kim averaged 3.8 WAR per season for the Padres from 2021-2024. His 2025 campaign has been marred by injuries, which is why most expect him to pick up his $16 million player option for 2026, but that’s a more than palatable rate for a starting shortstop.

If that’s all it takes to fix the Braves middle infield, they should have a ton of money to spend on the rest of the roster.