Earlier today, the Atlanta Braves made a key roster move, demoting Ozzie Albies down to the Double-A Mississippi Braves. Albies is the third overall prospect in the Braves organization, and had been playing for the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves. However, there is a good reason for this demotion. It’ll make a lot of sense in the long run.
Ozzie Albies Demoted to Double-A Mississippi
The driving reason behind sending Albies down is the fact that the Braves front office does not want Dansby Swanson being rushed through the organization, but they still want the infield combo to start playing together on a nightly basis so they can build a bond and chemistry.
Swanson is the number one prospect in the organization and is undoubtedly a great ball player. But remember, this time last year, Dansby Swanson was busy playing in the College World Series with the Vanderbilt Commodores. He is still somewhat new to professional baseball. It makes sense to send Albies to Mississippi to start play with Swanson.
In no way did this demotion come about because of Albies’ lack of production. He was hitting .248 with two long balls and twenty RBI. Not great, but not bad considering he was still adjusting to being at the Triple-A level. Albies had a brief stint with Mississippi earlier this season, hitting .369 in twenty-two games with eighty-four at-bats. In reality, it isn’t correct to refer to this as a demotion. It’s essentially a way to get two studs together on the same playing field.
Finally Seeing “The Future” Together
Albies is only 19 years old. With that being said, there’s no reason to rush him through the system. And not to beat a dead horse, but the Braves aren’t gonna win anything, except possibly 4th place in the division, anyways. It’s pointless to bring Albies up now, or even later this year. Let him develop. Give him time. Same thing with Dansby Swanson. Bringing them up might help some, and the Braves could possibly finish third in the division if everything went astoundingly, but as Ricky Bobby said, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” The Braves will be better off heeding that great quote and saving a year of control on their future.
The demotion puts Dansby Swanson at shortstop and Ozzie Albies at second. The middle infielders of the future are now playing on the same team. It’s an exciting glimpse of what is almost guaranteed to be the middle infield when the Bravos head north to Cobb County. Only time will tell what the future holds, but as of right now, it is looking quite bright.
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