Hey, where’s Ozzie Albies been these days? Apparently, not getting imminently closer to returning:
Ozzie Albies is still feeling some discomfort swinging left-handed. I asked if there was any chance he would just hit right-handed. Snitker said that kind of decision is up to the player.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 6, 2024
Albies has been out of action since July 21, when he was hurt trying to make a play at second base on a stolen base attempt. His brace came off and he was participating in fielding drills a few days ago, but given this update, it doesn’t look like he’s going to return imminently.
Albies had a 97 wRC+ and was outhitting his xwOBA prior to the injury. In terms of handedness splits, Albies came into this season with a .322 career wOBA / .313 career xwOBA against right-handed pitching, which has led to his switch-hitting being questioned fairly consistently, given how he’s crushed southpaws to the tune of a .393 wOBA / .364 xwOBA.
This pattern was no different this year — .284 wOBA and .297 xwOBA against righties, and a .390 wOBA and .322 xwOBA against lefties. (The fact that he, like most of his teammates, was dramatically worse across the board shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point.)
In Albies’ absence, Braves second basemen have hit for a a .284 wOBA and .303 xwOBA overall, which is notably worse than what Albies was doing. They’ve played better defense, but the Braves probably want full-time, standard Albies back, hence Brian Snitker’s noncommittal response above.
