The Braves pick up their options on two stars and announce a Spring Training game schedule. — While it seems like the World Series just ended, Major League Baseball’s offseason has already kicked straight into gear.
The Atlanta Braves are one of the teams that have not wasted any time taking care of business.
On Monday, the team announced that Bench Coach Walt Weiss would be taking over manager duties. On Tuesday, it was announced the Braves picked up the team option on 2B Ozzie Albies.
Wednesday morning brought news that ace pitcher and future Hall-of-Famer Chris Sale had his $18 million team option picked up for 2026 as well.
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Besides the Weiss announcement, probably the biggest news is that Sale will be returning to lead the team’s starting pitching staff.
Despite missing a large chunk of the 2025 season with a fractured rib, Sale still managed to post a 7-5 record with a 2.58 earned run average and 167 strikeouts.
Did we mention Sale won the National League Cy Young award in 2024 when he was 18-3, with a 2.38 ERA??
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Picking up Albies’s $7 million option was not a surprise either as the team would have owed him $4 million had they cut ties.
While immensely popular 28-year-old from Curacao struggled for a long part of the 2025 season, he did finish with a .240 batting average, 16 home runs and 74 RBI’s.
Ozzie’s season ended a bit early when he was put on the injured list with a fractured Hamate bone in September. Albies is expected to be ready to go during Spring Training in February.
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The Braves also announced a preliminary schedule for Spring Training in 2026.
While not announcing when pitchers and catchers will report, the team will start their exhibition schedule on Feb. 21 with a game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte, FL. and finish on March 24, with another game against the Rays, this time at the Braves facilities in North Port, FL.
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