Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves placed rookie pitching sensation Spencer Strider on the 15-day injured list Saturday.

The team announced Strider is dealing with a strained left oblique muscle and noted that the IL stint is retroactive to Sept. 21, meaning he will be eligible to return Oct. 5, which is the Braves' final game of the regular season.

Strider is the National League Rookie of the Year frontrunner with an 11-5 record, 2.67 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 202 strikeouts over 131.2 innings in 31 appearances and 20 starts.

Despite his status as a 23-year-old rookie, Strider leads MLB with 13.81 strikeouts per nine innings pitched this season. Among pitchers who have started at least three games this season, Nick Lodolo of the Cincinnati Reds is closest to Strider, and he is more than two full strikeouts per nine innings behind.

While Strider was dominant as a reliever before getting moved to the starting rotation, he hasn't missed a beat in that role, going 10-4 with a 2.77 ERA and 165 strikeouts in 107.1 innings.

Strider's injury comes at a less-than-ideal time for the Braves, as they are trying to chase down the New York Mets for the NL East lead and prepare for the playoffs.

Entering play Saturday, the Braves are 93-58 and trail the Mets by 2.5 games for the NL East lead, although they have already clinched at least a wild-card spot.

Even with Strider on the shelf, the defending World Series champions boast a strong rotation led by a pair of Cy Young candidates in Kyle Wright and Max Fried, along with veterans Charlie Morton and Jake Odorizzi.

Atlanta also has one of the most potent lineups in baseball, headlined by Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Dansby Swanson and Michael Harris.

It is unclear if Strider will need more than the minimum IL time to heal, but if he does return by the end of his IL stint, he will be back in time for the start of the playoffs.

The Braves have the depth and talent to thrive without Strider, but his elite stuff gives Atlanta a huge advantage when he is on the mound, and his presence would give the Braves a far better chance at repeating as World Series champs.

Ozzie Albies' return to the Atlanta Braves didn't even last two games.

The veteran infielder exited Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth inning with a right pinky finger fracture, the team announced. He suffered the injury after tagging up on a sac fly and sliding into second base.

Ozzie Albies has exited the game after apparently injuring his right hand. pic.twitter.com/W4kU159eZM

— Braves On FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSNBraves) September 18, 2022

Albies will miss the remainder of the regular season, per MLB.com's Mark Bowman. However, he could potentially return during the postseason.

It's a tough break for the 25-year-old, who was just reinstated from the 60-day injured list on Friday after fracturing his left foot in a game against the Washington Nationals on June 13.

Albies entered Saturday's game hitting .244/.288/.407 with eight home runs, 35 RBI and three stolen bases in 63 games.

Albies made his major league debut with the Braves in 2017 and has been a staple in the lineup ever since. He has won two Silver Slugger awards and earned two All-Star selections in his six-year career.

The native of Curacao put together one of his best seasons in 2021, hitting .259/.310/.488 with 30 home runs, 106 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 156 games en route to an All-Star selection and Silver Slugger award.

Orlando Arcia, Robinson Canó, Ehire Adrianza and Phil Gosselin have all seen time filling in at second base this season. However, Vaughn Grissom was called up last month and had taken over the position in Albies' stead. The rookie also replaced Albies during Saturday's game.

The Braves entered Saturday's game second in the NL East with an 89-55 record, just one game behind the New York Mets for first place in the division.

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, the team announced Friday.

Albies has not played for the Braves since fracturing his left foot in a game against the Washington Nationals in June. He appeared to suffer the injury on a swing.

Ozzie Albies appeared to hurt himself on this swing. He has exited the game, and Orlando Arcia has taken over at second base. pic.twitter.com/x6JDXiDTeR

— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) June 14, 2022

Albies had been on a rehab assignment in Triple-A before being reinstated. He went 5-for-5 and hit a walk-off home run for the Gwinnett Stripers on Tuesday.

Before breaking his foot, Albies was hitting .244/.289/.405 with eight home runs, 33 RBI and three stolen bases in 62 games with the Braves.

The 25-year-old is in his sixth season with the Braves and has won two Silver Slugger awards and earned two All-Star selections since entering the league in 2017. One of his best seasons came in 2021 when he hit .259/.310/.488 with 30 home runs, 106 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 156 games.

When Albies was out with injury, Orlando Arcia, Robinson Canó and Phil Gosselin took turns filling in at second base. Vaughn Grissom also was recalled last month and has hit .304/.355/.482 with five home runs in 31 games.

The Braves enter Friday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies second in the NL East with an 88-55 record, one game behind the first-place New York Mets.

The Atlanta Braves will not have pitcher Huascar Ynoa available for the foreseeable future.

David O'Brien of The Athletic reported the National League East team announced the right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. Ynoa last pitched in April and made just two appearances this season.

After the 24-year-old made those two starts and allowed 10 earned runs in 6.2 innings, the Braves optioned him to Triple-A. He wasn't much better at that level and posted a 5.68 ERA in 18 appearances prior to this setback.

Ynoa could very well miss the entire 2023 season as well as he recovers from a surgery that can take more than a year of rehab time.

His best season came in 2021, as he posted a 4.05 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 100 strikeouts in 91 innings.

However, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution pointed out "he has not been the same since he punched a dugout bench and broke his hand" during the course of that season.

Ynoa tallied a 3.02 ERA in nine appearances prior to that incident and appeared well on his way to being a major contributor for the eventual World Series champions. Yet, he had a 5.05 ERA in nine starts after he returned from the broken hand.

Atlanta also removed him from the postseason roster because of right shoulder inflammation.

Now it will likely be 2024 at the earliest until he has a chance to be back in the team's rotation.

Atlanta Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna made his first appearance since Thursday night's arrest on a DUI charge in Sunday's game against the Houston Astros, and he didn't receive a warm welcome from the home crowd.

According to ESPN, Braves fans booed Ozuna before his first at-bat during the second inning, and the boos grew louder when he struck out against Astros starter Jose Urquidy.

Ozuna was showered with boos once again after he struck out in the fifth inning. His day ended early when Eddie Rosario replaced him as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. It was Ozuna's first game since Aug. 14, as he didn't make an appearance in the first six games of Atlanta's seven-game homestand.

The 31-year-old had his playing time reduced because of another disappointing level of production this season. He entered Sunday batting .214 with 20 home runs and 46 RBI, his second straight year batting under .215. The Braves had rewarded him with a four-year, $65 million contract after a strong 2020 season in which he hit .338 and led the National League with 18 homers and 56 RBI.

This was Ozuna's second arrest in the past two years, as he was also arrested in May 2021 on charges of aggravated assault by strangulation and battery. Police officers said they witnessed Ozuna attacking his wife, but the charges were dropped after he completed a pretrial diversion program. He was placed on administrative leave during an MLB investigation and missed Atlanta's World Series title run.

Ozuna received a 20-game suspension under MLB's domestic violence policy in November for his 2021 arrest. He was allowed to start this season because the suspension was retroactive to Sept. 10 and covered the last 24 days of last season.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said he's unsure if Ozuna will face another suspension for this latest arrest. The team released a statement Friday, saying the "organization takes these matters very seriously and are obviously disappointed by the situation," but declined further comment amid the ongoing legal situation.

More details emerged Friday regarding the arrest of Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna after the release of body camera footage from the arresting officers.

According to Fox 5 in Atlanta, Ozuna was arrested early Friday morning on charges of driving under the influence and failure to maintain lane in Norcross, Georgia. Ozuna was booked and later released from jail.

Footage of the arrest shows Ozuna saying, "Sorry, sorry, I'm Ozuna from the Braves." He told police he had consumed "three or four" beers.

Ozuna partook in field sobriety tests but refused to take a Breathalyzer test before being arrested.

The 31-year-old was in the Braves clubhouse prior to their game against the Houston Astros on Friday and issued a statement:

Marcell Ozuna’s statement. He did not take questions pic.twitter.com/I6MyVpZhfC

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) August 19, 2022

Aside from stating it was a legal matter, he would only say that he disappointed his team and family.

Last year, Ozuna was arrested in May after police said they saw him grab his wife, Genesis, by the neck and throw her against a wall, as well as strike her. He was charged with felony aggravated assault by strangulation, but the charges were later reduced to battery and simple assault.

He was placed on administrative leave after the arrest and didn't play for the remainder of the 2021 season. In November, Major League Baseball suspended him retroactively for 20 games.

He returned to the team this year and has spent much of the season as a starter, but he hasn't played since Sunday. In 107 games, Ozuna is slashing just .214/.263/.393 with 20 home runs and 46 RBI.

It is a far cry from the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, which saw him hit .338 with a National League-leading 18 homers and 56 RBI en route to finishing sixth in the NL MVP voting and winning his second career Silver Slugger Award.

Ozuna was a two-time All-Star in five seasons with the Miami Marlins (2013-17) before spending two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and then signing with the Braves.

Given Ozuna's struggles at the plate and now his arrest, it is likely the Braves will use some combination of Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, Eddie Rosario, Robbie Grossman and Vaughn Grissom in the outfield and at designated hitter for the foreseeable future.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna was arrested early Friday morning on a DUI charge.

Per Jennifer Lifsey of CBS 46 in Atlanta, Ozuna was booked into Gwinnett County Jail at 4:39 a.m. local time after Norcross Police arrested him on charges of DUI and failure to maintain lane.

The Braves said in a statement they are "aware of Marcell Ozuna's arrest" and are "still gathering all the facts pertaining to the incident."

Statement from the #Braves on Marcell Ozuna’s arrest. #FortheA pic.twitter.com/tbiYKvApLA

— Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) August 19, 2022

This marks the second time in 15 months that Ozuna has been arrested. He was charged with aggravated assault by strangulation and battery against his then-wife after being taken into custody by the Sandy Springs Police Department.

In their official report, Sandy Springs police noted they witnessed Ozuna "grabbing the victim by the neck and throwing her against a wall" upon entering the residence.

Police video obtained by TMZ Sports in December showed Ozuna with his hand "aggressively wrapped around his wife's neck" moments before he was arrested.

Per the booking report obtained by TMZ, cops said Ozuna's wife told them he threatened to kill her during a dispute "over an infidelity."

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis declined to bring felony charges against Ozuna. He was instead charged with battery and simple assault, both misdemeanors.

In September, Ozuna agreed to enter a diversion program in order to get the charges dropped if he adhered to the conditions of a negotiated settlement and successfully completed the program.

The charges against Ozuna were dropped by prosecutors in April. He was retroactively suspended 20 games without pay by Major League Baseball in November for violating the joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy.

Ozuna has appeared in 107 games for the Braves this season. The 31-year-old is in his third season with the team after previously playing for the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.

The Atlanta Braves are reportedly looking to keep Dansby Swanson in the fold.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the National League East team has "opened extension talks" with the shortstop ahead of his potential free agency this offseason.

While Heyman noted Swanson is represented by the same agency as Freddie Freeman, who was unable to come to terms on a deal with the Braves, he noted "there's been less whispered negativity about these talks."

Swanson re-signing with the Braves would be a blow to teams who will be looking for shortstops this offseason. The possibility exists that Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Swanson are all free agents after the 2022 campaign, which would provide plenty of choices on the market and perhaps impact the players' leverage.

Yet the Braves may remove one of those names from the list as discussions begin.

It comes as no surprise that Atlanta would want to keep Swanson. After all, he is in the middle of his prime at 28 years old and made the first All-Star Game of his career this season after helping lead the team to a championship in 2021.

Swanson is slashing .292/.348/.455 with 16 home runs and 65 RBI this season after hitting a career-best 27 long balls last year.

The shortstop also hit two home runs during the World Series win over the Houston Astros, proving he can deliver in clutch moments. He may have more opportunities to do just that considering the Braves are in a wild-card position in the National League.

That would only help his leverage in any contract discussions.

On Tuesday night, the Atlanta Braves continued paving their path to another dynasty, signing rookie center fielder Michael Harris II to an eight-year, $72 million extension that will keep him in Georgia through at least 2030.

But what else is new? Atlanta seems to have cracked some sort of secret code with its repeated ability to cultivate home-grown talent into young Major League stars who agree to long-term deals at great-for-the-player, not-that-risky-for-the-team price points.

And for Harris, goodness gracious, what a ride this has been. It hasn't even been three months since he was called up from Double-A Mississippi to replace an unproductive Travis Demeritte, and now he is a very rich young man who ranks among the top candidates for both NL Rookie of the Year and a Gold Glove.

If he continues to live up to the hype, there are also club options for 2031 and 2032, which could turn this into a 10-year, $102 million deal—after which Harris will still only be 32 years old and could end up signing another substantial contract.

You think center fielder Michael Harris hasn't had a huge impact on Atlanta since his call-up? They are 50-21 since his arrival, averaging 5.3 runs a game with a .802 OPS compared to 4.2 runs a game and .702 OPS before, per @SportsInfo_SIS. Yes, Atlanta was wise locking him up.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 17, 2022

But "For the A," here we go again with general manager Alex Anthopoulos locking up another young star on a long-term, team-friendly deal.

Not even one month removed from the Washington Nationals trading away Juan Soto because they couldn't possibly afford to sign the 23-year-old to a contract that adequately reflects his market value, their NL East counterpart has now added Harris to what was already a ridiculously loaded lineup for years to come.

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Get Used To This Nucleus in Atlanta

Atlanta signed Austin Riley to a 10-year, $212 million extension earlier this month that could keep him in a Braves uniform through 2033. They also signed Matt Olson to an eight-year, $168 million deal before the season began, so he'll be a staple in the heart of Atlanta's order through at least 2029.

The Braves already committed highway robbery in April 2019 when they signed Ozzie Albies to a seven-year, $35 million deal (with club options for an eighth and ninth season) and Ronald Acuña Jr. to an eight-year, $100 million contract (with club options for a ninth and 10th season).

And we mentioned these are team-friendly deals, right?

Even with Riley and Olson both coming at an "already reached arbitration eligibility before signing the deal" premium, Atlanta has a five-man nucleus of Riley, Olson, Acuña, Albies and Harris for the exceptionally reasonable price of $65 million next season, $72 million in 2024 and $76 million in each of 2025 and 2026.

(Meanwhile, the New York Mets will be paying $110.33 million just for Max Scherzer, Francisco Lindor, Starling Marte and James McCann for each of the next two seasons.)

But wait.

There's more.

Though they haven't signed any of these guys to long-term contracts yet, starting pitchers Kyle Wright and Ian Anderson are under team control through 2026, and starting pitcher Spencer Strider and catcher/designated hitter William Contreras are arbitration-eligible through 2027. Recently promoted Vaughn Grissom won't hit free agency until after the 2028 campaign.

Atlanta could do quite literally nothing other than agreeing to one-year arbitration deals with a handful of guys over the next 43 months and still have a 2026 Opening Day lineup that begins as follows:

1. Acuña, RF
2. Albies, 2B
3. Olson, 1B
4. Riley, 3B
5. Contreras, C
6. Harris, CF
7. Grissom, SS

They got to find a left fielder at some point, but that lineup plus a starting rotation of Wright, Anderson, Strider and some combination of the top remaining prospects in their farm system (Kyle Muller, Jared Shuster, Bryce Elder and Freddy Tarnok) will certainly do.

Again, that's if they do nothing to retain guys who are scheduled to hit free agency before 2026. With all the money they're saving on the long-term deals they already have, they could re-sign the likes of Dansby Swanson* (hitting free agency this offseason) and/or starting pitchers Max Fried and Mike Soroka (both arbitration-eligible through 2024).

*If Grissom plays well the rest of the way, my guess is Atlanta won't re-sign Swanson, who is having himself one hell of a contract year with a team-leading bWAR of 4.7. But it could surely afford to do so, if it so chooses.

And, to reiterate, we're talking about four years into the future for what is already the defending World Series champion, the four-time reigning NL East champion and the hottest team in baseball since Memorial Day.

If that's not a dynasty in the making, what is?

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'90s Braves Part II

If the Braves run a freight train through the NL East for the foreseeable future, it wouldn't be the first time.

They won the division in 11 consecutive seasons from 1995-2005, most of them in blowout fashion. Save for 1995, they had some miserable luck in the postseason, but it was a more-than-decade-long stretch of regular-season dominance unlikely to ever be repeated.

But if they can close the current 3.5-game gap and overtake the Mets for this year's divisional crown, who will stop them from letting those good times roll once more?

The Nationals are a dumpster fire that probably won't even flirt with a .500 record in the next three years (he typed, fighting back tears, in his curly "W" cap).

The Marlins have literally never won the division and have not had a winning record in a 162-game season since 2009.

The Phillies haven't made the playoffs in 10 years, have little worth mentioning in their farm system and are spending an awful lot of money each year on Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, each of whom is already at least 29 years old. (It's like a bizarro version of Olson, Riley, Acuña, Albies and Harris in which they are aging and more expensive.)

Philly could win the division, but it's only going to get tougher with each passing year of its pricy nucleus getting older and Atlanta's stars only now approaching their prime.

It really should be Atlanta vs. New York until further notice.

And while the Mets have been excellent this season, they are going to lose both Edwin Diaz (free agent) and Jacob deGrom (player option) this offseason unless they pony up a lot more money to keep them around.

Steve Cohen does love to spend on big-name free agents, and New York has a great farm system highlighted by catcher Francisco Álvarez, so the Mets ought to be a playoff team more often than not for years to come.

But Atlanta's ability to lock down its top talent for a reasonable price at a young age certainly bodes well.

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So...Why Aren't More Teams Doing This?

The pre-arbitration, long-term extension is a calculated risk that used to be primarily a "small-market team trying to stay competitive" practice.

The Tampa Bay Rays were the early kings of what has become a rapidly growing trend, even in larger markets.

Evan Longoria hadn't even been in the majors for a week before he signed a six-year, $17.5 million contract in April 2008. Matt Moore had pitched 9.1 innings in his MLB career when the Rays inked him to a five-year, $14 million deal in December 2011.

They gave Chris Archer a full season in the bigs before locking him up, but the six-year, $25.5 million deal that he signed in April 2014 still worked out quite well for Tampa Bay—they traded him to Pittsburgh for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and Shane Baz right when he started getting more expensive and less productive.

They also currently have Brandon Lowe on a six-year, $24 million deal. And though it was a much larger commitment than the others, the 11-year, $182 million contract that Wander Franco signed with Tampa Bay last November might end up being quite the bargain.

Those savvy moves have enabled the low-budget Rays to contend with the deep pockets of New York and Boston on a near-annual basis over the past 14 years.

It's not just the Rays, either.

Toronto has gotten solid value out of its seven-year, $22 million deal with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Milwaukee got Ryan Braun on an eight-year, $45 million deal after he won the 2007 NL ROY. (They also recently signed Aaron Ashby to a five-year, $20.5 million extension.)

Miami signed Christian Yelich to a seven-year, $49.6 million in March 2015 after his second season in the big leagues. And who can forget Kansas City getting Salvador Perez on a preposterous five-year, $7 million deal for 2012-16, during which time he was a four-time All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner with a 16.0 bWAR and a 2015 World Series MVP?

Oh, and the White Sox. Thanks to pre-arbitration extensions with Yoán Moncada (five years, $70 million), Luis Robert (six years, $50 million), Eloy Jiménez (six years, $43 million), Aaron Bummer (five years, $16 million) and especially Tim Anderson (six years, $25 million), Chicago was supposed to be one of the top teams in the American League this season and should enter next season as one of the biggest threats to reach the World Series once again.

There is, of course, some risk in making a long-term commitment to a player who has little to no MLB experience, as they haven't all been home runs.

Philadelphia's six-year, $24 million deal with Scott Kingery has been a colossal waste of money over the past three years, and they still owe him another $8 million in 2023, plus a buyout of the club options for 2024-26.

The Cubs gave David Bote a five-year, $15 million extension in early 2019, but he has provided absolutely no return on that investment.

Houston signed Jon Singleton to a five-year, $10 million deal before he ever played a game, and he finished his 114-game career with a negative-0.9 bWAR.

And that risk is rapidly increasing as the average salary on some of these pre-arbitration extensions has crept into the $20-$25 million range. At any rate, there sure are a lot of people these days wondering if San Diego's 14-year, $340 million deal with Fernando Tatis Jr. was a mistake.

For the most part, though, the risk has been well worth the reward, and Atlanta is clearly reaping the benefits of this long-term approach to roster development.

Despite letting Freddie Freeman and others walk after winning the 2021 World Series, the Braves currently have the fifth-best World Series odds per DraftKings (+1000) this October. And barring a rash of devastating injuries, they already feel like a lock to open each of the next five seasons as one of the top-five threats to win it all.

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All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference. All contract info courtesy of Spotrac.

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The Atlanta Braves announced Tuesday they reached an agreement with Rookie of the Year contender Michael Harris II on an eight-year, $72 million contract extension.

Harris' new deal also includes a pair of club options, which could turn it into a 10-year, $102 million pact that runs through the 2032 MLB season.

The 21-year-old outfielder has compiled a .287/.325/.500 slash line with 12 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 71 appearances during his debut campaign.

Harris arrived to the majors on May 28, when the reigning World Series champions owned a 22-25 record and sat 8.5 games behind the New York Mets in the NL East standings.

The Braves have compiled a 50-21 mark since that point and have moved within 3.5 games of the Mets after winning the first two games of an ongoing head-to-head series.

Harris, a native of Georgia's DeKalb County, endeared himself to Braves Country in recent years by either watching the team's playoff games in full uniform or attending them as a fan:

WE in this TOGETHER!! LETSSS GOOOO!! #MixItUp @Braves pic.twitter.com/kqrMZwnIRf

— Michael Harris II〽️ (@MoneyyyMikeee) October 19, 2020

LETTSSSS GOOOOO!!!!! MVP! MVP!#BeatLA pic.twitter.com/hvtJYmY74y

— Michael Harris II〽️ (@MoneyyyMikeee) October 17, 2021

Now he's a major part of Atlanta's effort to capture a second straight World Series title.

His extension is the latest in a recent trend of the Braves rewarding young stars early in their careers in order to buy out a couple of free-agent seasons.

Atlanta signed outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. to an eight-year, $100 million extension in 2019 before his second season in the majors and inked second baseman Ozzie Albies to a seven-year, $35 million deal early in his third MLB campaign, also in 2019.

The Braves waited a little longer on third baseman Austin Riley, who's in the midst of his fourth season, and it cost them as he landed a 10-year, $212 million contract after emerging as an MVP candidate.

In all, a large portion of the club's core is now under team control for an extended period:

How to keep a core together, by the @Braves.

- Austin Riley, through 2032
- Matt Olson, 2030
- Michael Harris II, 2030
- Ronald Acuña Jr., 2028
- Vaughn Grissom, 2028
- Ozzie Albies, 2027
- Spencer Strider, 2027
- William Contreras, 2027
- Kyle Wright, 2026
- Max Fried, 2024

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 17, 2022

While the early extensions come with risk if players don't live up to their potential, so far it's worked for Atlanta as the club attempts to keep its championship window open without trying to outbid the big-spending Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency.

Harris and the Braves, who are riding an eight-game winning streak, will look to stay hot with two games left in a crucial series against the Mets.

The outfielder will likely receive a strong ovation at Truist Park on Wednesday night in his first game since signing the new contract.