ATLANTA — Just 30 minutes after Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker said he didn’t know whether second baseman Ozzie Albies would play again this season, Albies was asked that same question and had an entirely different sort of answer.
Not only did he say he’ll play again, but Albies also hopes to rejoin the Braves within a week and said it would take just one rehab game or simulated game to be ready once cleared to play.
Sunday will mark eight weeks since he fractured his left wrist making a tag, and Albies said everything feels ready except for his left-handed swing. So, the switch hitter will bat exclusively right-handed for a while.
“No doubt,” Albies said. “Because I don’t feel anything on the right side. When I first started swinging, it was fine on the right side all the way. On the left side, it wasn’t good, and it’s still not where it needs to be, so that’s where I am today.”
He worked out with the team again Friday, then watched the Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the opener of a highly anticipated four-game series at sold-out Truist Park.
Spencer Schwellenbach continued his wholly impressive rookie season by limiting the Dodgers to four hits and two runs in six innings, and midseason pickups Jorge Soler and Gio Urshela hit two-run homers in a four-run second inning for the Braves, who also got three hits from Marcell Ozuna to give him 1,500 for his career.
1️⃣5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ career hits for Big Bear!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/8W44kLMJKo
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 14, 2024
The Braves got six hits, three RBIs and a walk from their first three of Michael Harris II, Soler and Ozuna, while the Dodgers’ Nos. 1-3 hitting superstars — Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman — went 0-for-11 with three strikeouts and a walk.
Atlanta remains one game behind the New York Mets for the third and final NL wild-card spot with 15 games left.
Asked to describe what his left-handed swing felt like, Albies said: “It’s sore. Like, point of contact, it feels like I want to back off. And that’s not how I play. So I won’t risk it if the bone is not all the way, 100 percent, (hitting) on that side.”
The Mets have surged to overtake the injury-riddled Braves, and Albies is eager to play. He doesn’t think the Braves will object to his idea of just one Triple-A rehab game or even just live pitching in a simulated game.
“Everybody on the team is asking me when I’m gonna be back,” he said.
Snitker said a couple of weeks ago that Albies’ left-handed swing wasn’t feeling good. The manager has been asked a couple of times since about Albies possibly returning to hit only right-handed for the rest of the season or until the lefty swing is ready.
Snitker reiterated his previous answer Friday, saying it would be up to Albies and that a player couldn’t be asked to do something like that unless the player felt comfortable with it. Snitker said he had not had those discussions with Albies.
But a half-hour later, Albies said he talked about it with the training staff and decided hitting right-handed and returning now — or at least soon — was preferable to waiting until the left-handed swing felt good.
Besides, as Albies noted, it would not be the first time he has hit right-handed against righty pitchers in the majors — and not just against knuckleballers.
“If you remember in ’21, I did it a couple of times, even in the World Series,” said Albies, who hit right-handed against Houston Astros righty Zack Greinke in the World Series, primarily because of the “eephus” pitch Greinke threw at speeds similar to a knuckleball.
“It’s no problem,” Albies said. “I felt more comfortable going from the right side against him, just like I did with (Ryne) Harper, a reliever in D.C. (the Washington Nationals reliever had a knuckle-curve in the low-70 mph range). I did it during the season (against him) just because I knew I could handle the pitch better from the right side.”
This time, Albies will surely face right-handers throwing in the mid- to upper-90s, some with nasty sliders. His approach will be simple: “Hitting on the right side, righty against righty, just lay off bad pitches and swing at good pitches,” he said. “That’s all I can do.”
Before breaking his hand, Albies wasn’t having a good season by his standards. The three-time former All-Star hit .258 with eight homers, a .717 OPS and a 99 OPS+ in 90 games, and his .407 slugging percentage would be the lowest of his career if it doesn’t improve.
That’s almost identical to the 98 OPS+ produced by fill-in Whit Merrifield in 35 games since the Braves signed him after the Albies injury, including 34 starts at second base. But the Braves know Albies can carry an offense if he gets on a roll. A year ago, he hit .280 with career highs of 33 homers, 107 RBIs and a 126 OPS+.
Before the injury, Albies hit .343 with a .912 OPS in 101 plate appearances from the right side this season, compared to .225 with a .645 OPS in 293 PAs batting left-handed.
There will be plenty of interest in seeing how he does batting right-handed only. Especially from those observers who’ve long suggested he abandon switch hitting because of his robust .339 career average and .933 OPS against lefties, compared to .247/.747 versus righties.
All but 15 of his 2,824 career plate appearances against righties have been batting left-handed. That’s apparently about to change.
Merrifield playing with a foot fracture
One week after Merrifield fractured his left foot when he fouled a ball off it, the veteran returned to the lineup Friday and went 2-for-4 with two runs scored from the ninth spot in the order. Playing Friday had been Merrifield’s goal after doctors told him he wouldn’t further damage the foot by playing on it, as long as he could tolerate the pain.
Merrifield has played only four postseason games in his nine-year career, and he said he wasn’t about to shut it down for the season if there was any way he could help the Braves compete for a postseason berth.
“They said it wouldn’t heal for a while,” he said. “My job is to be ready to play, so I feel like that’s where we’re at. I’ve never been on the (injured list) in my big-league career, and I’m very proud of that.”
A CT scan hours after the injury revealed the fracture that X-rays at the stadium missed. But after initially thinking he’d be out for the rest of the season and the playoffs, Merrifield was told the next day by a Braves specialist that if he could deal with the discomfort while running and hitting, he could play.
Merrifield said he knew by Tuesday, when he hit and did some running, that he’d be able to play. The next day, he put on his cleats, ran the bases at full speed and knew he’d be good to go for the important Dodgers series after the team’s day off Thursday.
“Time’s running out,” Merrifield said, speaking of the Braves’ season, “and frankly, I’m 35. I don’t know how many more chances I’ll have to be in a playoff race. So it’s important for me to do what I can on a team that’s in a playoff race. Obviously, these opportunities don’t come around too often; I spent most of my career playing in games in September that didn’t mean much. So if someone told me I can go out there and play in a game in September that’s important, I’m gonna do everything I can to get out there.”
He showed no lingering effects when he beat out an infield hit in the second inning, immediately after Urshela’s homer. Merrifield scored two batters later when Soler hit the second homer of the inning off Dodgers starter Landon Knack to push the lead to 5-0.
Soler power ⚡️@Delta | #BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/mOmFQlsULD
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 13, 2024
Merrifield had a two-out single in the eighth and scored on Harris’ double.
Snitker saw Merrifield in the dugout after his first hit.
“I said, ‘You didn’t think you were just going to get a nice single; you’ve got to beat out an infield hit,’” Snitker said, smiling. “I said I figured the next guy, Michael, would hit a ball in the gap and he’d have to score from first, too. But (Merrifield) looked good running. If it bothers him, I don’t think he’s gonna let you know. He’ll just keep getting treated up.
“We added a run in the (eighth) inning — it’s kind of nice having a guy like that hitting ninth. It’s kind of like the second leadoff hitter.”
It was Soler’s second homer in 21 games at Truist Park this season but his first in 18 home games with the Braves. He hit the other on July 2 when he was still with the San Francisco Giants.
Soler has six homers in 34 games since being traded to the Braves, four of which came in one three-game road series Aug. 9-11 against the Colorado Rockies.
He hit .119 (7-for-59) with three extra-base hits and a .471 OPS in his next 21 games after that series but has shown encouraging signs this week with five hits, including three extra-base hits and three walks, in the past three games.
(Photo of Spencer Schwellenbach: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
