Ozzie Albies is the longest tenured Atlanta Brave and one of the most popular players in Braves country. He's also on one of the most team friendly contracts in the history of Major League Baseball. Because of those two factors, picking up his 2026 option at a $7 million price tag and keeping Ozzie in Atlanta has long been thought to be a mortal lock.
Unfortunately, Albies' subpar 2025 season has thrown a wrench in what once thought to be a forgone conclusion. Ozzie's poor play has reached a level that had many of us speculating his status at this year's trade deadline. In recent days, it has even gone as far as Braves beat writer, Mark Bowman, suggesting the team should be listening to offers involving Albies. Yep, that means that the Albies trade speculation has now entered talks amongst those around the team everyday.
Could the Braves actually move on from Ozzie Albies this trade deadline?
When assessing what direction the Braves could go at this year's trade deadline, Bowman reiterated the club's stance on not trading players with team control beyond 2025. Names like Chris Sale, Pierce Johnson, and Ozzie Albies all fall into that category. However, if teams are looking for a buy-low middle infield bat Albies' name could pop-up in trade talks.
The Braves have a real question to answer with Ozzie, as his current Statcast profile is one that's hard to get behind heading into the 2026 season. The decision in the winter for Atlanta centers around if the club wants to upgrade second base (and if they think they can for that matter) or if bypassing $3 million in savings and banking on an Ozzie Albies bounce back is their best option. The enticing alternative to both of those options could be if teams approach Anthopoulos with a decent offer for Albies this July.
Should Ablies get hot for a week at the plate (so far so good after the All-Star break there) and the Braves are then able to parlay that into a semi-decent return, it could give Anthopoulos a lot more freedom for constructing the 2026 roster. That would be accomplished by freeing up the projected Albies' money for next season for a bigger move, which isn't a bad idea even if the savings are limited.
If the Braves' front office are believers in the opinion that Ozzie Albies' best production days are behind him, then getting out in front of this process this trade deadline would be a wise decision. Although it remains unlikely, Anthopoulos has pulled off more stunning moves before, so don't completely rule it out.