Braves rumors: Ozzie Albies' return, surprise free agent target, HR history chase

Atlanta Braves rumors: When will Ozzie Albies return to the lineup?

With the final days of August upon us, we should anticipate Ozzie Albies returning to the starting lineup sooner rather than later. Atlanta's All-Star second baseman has been on IL since Aug. 15 with a hamstring injury. He was eligible to come off the IL on Friday in Game 1 of the Braves' road series vs. the San Francisco Giants, but all signs point towards him making his return vs. the Colorado Rockies.

The idea behind the Rockies series being so important for Albies' return is it would give him a little bit of a warm-up in the middle part of their West Coast road trip before taking on the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers in the following series. While San Francisco is a playoff-caliber team, Colorado is in the pits again, well, because they are the Rockies and that is what they do more often than not...

The great news for the Braves is there is no reason to rush Albies back into the starting lineup any sooner than they have to. If Atlanta wants to win its second World Series in three years, the Braves need a healthy Albies manning second base and hitting in the top-half of their batting order. Vaughn Grissom and Nicky Lopez can keep his seat warm, but it will be Albies' seat once he returns in a bit.

With Albies traveling with the team on the West Coast road trip, his return to the team feels imminent.