Ozzie Albies to hit only right-handed in return from injured list

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CINCINNATI — Ozzie Albies isn’t the first player who has decided to at least temporarily ditch switch hitting. But he seems to be the first to do so during the final stages of a heated postseason race.

When Albies returns to the Braves lineup for Friday night’s series opener in Miami, he will be exclusively batting right-handed, something he hasn’t done since he joined the professional ranks in 2014. The veteran second baseman, who has been sidelined since fracturing his left wrist on July 21, is still feeling discomfort when swinging from the left side.

So, rather than sit out the rest of the regular season, he is doing whatever he can to help the Braves make a late push toward the postseason.

“We all know how naturally gifted he is right-handed,” Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said. “Seeing the ball go away from him instead of into him will be an adjustment. But I think he’ll be all right. It would be a huge boost if he could come up here and be normalized right-handed.”

Fans have long clamored for Albies to stop hitting left-handed. The 26-year-old second baseman has hit .246 with 95 homers (28.0 at-bats per home run) and a .735 OPS during his career from the left side. He has hit .339 with 47 homers (20.2 AB/HR) and a .937 OPS from the right side.

“As long as he’s comfortable with it and feels confident about it, we all know what that right-handed bat is like,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He just needs some experience.”

Albies went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk while facing nothing but left-handed pitchers when he played his first rehab game for Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday. He went 2-for-5 with a pair of singles while facing nothing but right-handed pitchers in Wednesday’s game against Jacksonville.

Now, Albies is set to face the Marlins, who are slated to start a right-handed pitcher on Friday and Sunday. Left-hander Braxton Garrett could come off the injured list to start Saturday’s game. Miami’s bullpen currently includes just one left-handed pitcher.

Facing right-handed pitchers from the right side isn’t completely foreign to Albies. Along with taking right-handed swings against right-handed batting practice pitches on a daily basis, he actually chose to have a right vs. right matchup against the Astros’ Zack Greinke during the 2021 World Series.

Albies has felt more comfortable from the right side against right-handed soft tossers and knuckleballers. He struck out and grounded out while facing Greinke, whose fastball averaged 90.1 mph over four innings in Game 4.

“If anybody can pull this off, he can,” Seitzer said.

With Albies returning to the lineup, the Braves will need to decide how to now utilize Whit Merrifield, who is still playing with a broken bone in his left foot. Merrifield’s foot erases his candidacy to play the outfield — but he could play third base. The questions are: 1) Is there enough of an offensive upgrade to take Gio Urshela off third base, especially with the foot also limiting Merrifield offensively? 2) Would it make more sense to have Merrifield come off the bench and possibly create some late-inning options both offensively and defensively?