When the Atlanta Braves signed Ozzie Albies to an early-career extension, it quickly looked like one of the most team-friendly contracts in MLB.
Somehow, Albies is making a case that he shouldn't get to the end of it.
The Braves would pay Albies $7 million in 2026 if they accept his option at the end of the year.
MLB.com's Mark Bowman predicts that Atlanta may choose to decline that.
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Albies is mired in the worst season of his life.
The 28-year old switch-hitter entered Sunday batting .223 with a .297 on-base percentage and .322 slugging percentage.
He has never had an OPS below .707 in his MLB career. This season, he is at .619 through June 28.
Albies has six homers and seven steals, and has not been a total zero. His Wins Above Replacement is positive, at 0.6.
But this is so far from the player Albies once was.
He swings at a lot of pitches outside the strike zone and doesn't hit the ball hard very often anymore.
It's a sad sight for Braves fans, who figured they'd have Albies around for a long time still.
Atlanta may very well keep Albies on his option because it really isn't that much money in the grand scheme of an MLB team. But the fact that it's even a discussion point is quite a crazy bummer.
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