Atlanta Braves Expected to Promote Nacho Alvarez to Replace Ozzie Albies

With another regular on the injured list, the Atlanta Braves plan to promote infield prospect Nacho Alvarez for his major league debut, according to a report from MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. The Braves plan to play Alvarez at second base.

Albies left Sunday’s game in the ninth inning after jamming his wrist while trying to make contact with a runner. X-rays later revealed a fracture and he is expected to be out about eight weeks.

Alvarez started the season in Double-A where he hit .265/.381/.312 with a 115 wRC+ in 202 plate appearances. He took off at the plate after a promotion to Gwinnett where he entered Sunday hitting .342/.425/.586 with seven home runs and a 159 wRC+. Alvarez has spent most of his playing time at shortstop and some at third base, but he is expected to move to second base in the major leagues. The situation is similar to Vaughn Grissom who made his major league debut in 2021 at second base in place of the injured Albies.

While Alvarez might struggle to replicate his Triple-A offensive numbers, he’s the Braves’ best option at this point and should see everyday playing time moving forward.