The Atlanta Braves have undoubtedly been the hottest team in all of baseball as of late, winning their last 11 games and turning around a slow start for the 2021 World Series champions.
Monday’s game against the Washington Nationals brought the team a small positive and what could be an extremely impactful negative.
The positive is that they were able to take their winning streak to 12 games with a 9-5 victory, but it has come at the cost of two-time All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies.
Albies suffered an injury in the fifth inning of Monday night’s game where he appeared to injure his foot while hitting.
Ozzie Albies exits tonight's game after suffering an apparent injury on this swing. pic.twitter.com/Bj17gdDbed
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) June 14, 2022
It was clearly a bad injury, as Albies didn’t get too far out of the batter’s box after making contact. We now know that the injury is in fact a serious one for Albies, as reports have emerged that he has suffered a fractured foot.
Atlanta second baseman Ozzie Albies fractured his foot tonight. Brutal.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 14, 2022
It’s a brutal break for a team that is really finding their groove, and many around the MLB world are wishing Albies the best in his recovery from the freak injury.
Ozzie Albies can have my foot.
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 14, 2022
That's twice in his young career that Ozzie Albies has dealt with a somewhat bizarre injury like this.
He fractured his olecranon (right elbow) in September of 2016. Now it's a fractured foot. Things you just don't see that often, and to happen twice. Man.
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) June 14, 2022
Wow. Fractured foot for Ozzie Albies. Right when they get hot… a HUGE blow https://t.co/kNBjs4v6aC
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) June 14, 2022
Ozzie Albies is a fun player to watch. Bad for baseball when players like that get hurt for lengthy periods.
Hope for a speedy recovery.
— Pete Hoffman (@HoffWFAN) June 14, 2022
Albies is currently in the midst of the worst season of his career, slashing only .246/.288/.408 on the year.
This diagnosis won’t help things, and while he hasn’t been quite as good as in recent years, the Braves may have trouble replacing not only his bat but his solid defense at second base.
The Braves will have a chance to further their winning streak on Tuesday when they take on the Nationals, but they may start to feel the impact of Albies injury sooner rather than later.
