Aside from his recent hot streak which has been delightful, Atlanta Braves fans have seen arguably the worst version of Ozzie Albies in 2025. Albies clearly has lost a step on the base paths as well as in the field, his arm strength has continued to decline, and his power had, until recently, completely left him. For many fans, it felt like we were watching Albies’ rapid career decline right in front of our eyes.
For some, it was just a function of time. Albies IS about to turn 29 and has over 1,000 big league games under his belt and that doesn’t include a lengthy trip through the minor leagues that started when he was a teenager. Others thought that the combination of Albies’ small frame and all of the injuries he has had to deal with over the years had taken their toll. As it turns out, the latter group was on to something, but it was a bit more specific than that.
While there is almost certainly not one “cause” for why Ozzie was struggling, Braves hitting coach Tim Hyers recently spoke to The Athletic‘s David O’Brien and he definitely suggested strongly that a big reason why Albies had struggled goes back to his broken wrist from last season.
Ozzie Albies’ wrist injury has held him back more than Braves fans thought
While no one doubted that Albies’ broken wrist after a HBP was a problem at the time last July, but there was no indication that it was an ongoing struggle for him. Albies has dealt with a number of injuries over the years and he has been adamant every single time once he returned that he was ready to roll.
However, according to Hyers, his recovery from that wrist injury may have taken longer to recovery from than Albies was letting on. There is still no indication that Albies is still hurt or playing with pain or anything like that. Instead, it is the strength in Albies’ wrist that seems to have taken a long time to build back up. Given Albies’ bat speed issues and just how late he has been on some pitches, there could be something to that.
As to what to do with that information, that is a bit trickier. It isn’t like there weren’t signs that Albies was declining BEFORE he broke his wrist last summer after all. However, Ozzie has been hitting the crap out of the ball lately and if can keep that up, the decision on Albies’ option gets a whole lot easier.
