The Atlanta Braves are simply too talented to be playing this poorly for as long as they have now.
We may be past the point of no return when it comes to the Alex Anthopoulos/Brian Snitker era of Atlanta Braves baseball. Together, they helped Atlanta win its first World Series Championship in 26 years. Between six straight NL East crowns, that is starting to feel like that of a distant memory.
This year’s team absolutely stinks. There is no dog to be had on this roster. The coaching staff is so pitiful.
So when ESPN’s Jeff Passan labeled the Braves as a holder in his way-too-early MLB trade deadline primer, I got where he was coming from. The rotation is still the teams strength, while the bullpen continues to be a festering eyesore. All the while, there are pieces to be had that are performing well at the plate. The team’s most consistent hitter over the last few seasons has been Marcell Ozuna.
Passan tabbed Ozuna as the team’s most likely trade piece. Even though he is battling through an injury, Ozuna leads the team in WAR with 1.8. He is slashing .278/.420/.464 this season with 10 home runs, 25 runs batted in and a league-leading 48 walks. Ozuna is seeing the ball well, even if his body is betraying him. Given that he is playing on an expiring contract, Ozuna could be had for the right price.
There is one other reason why the Braves might look to sell high on Ozuna anyway: Drake Baldwin.
Why the Atlanta Braves could potentially trade Marcell Ozuna come July
This all comes down to if the Braves are even playoff-viable in two months’ time. If they are, then maybe Anthopoulos will not trade him.
He needs to curry favor with the fanbase in the worst way possible. How does he repay Braves Country, you ask? By hiring Fredi Gonzalez off the street to be the third base coach after the walking disaster that was Matt Tiuasosopo. I hate this team so much!
So why trade Ozuna? Well, he is the exact type of player that Anthopoulos will not be giving a new contract to. He is 34, going on 35.
After six years of service with the team, expect for Ozuna to find a new place to play next year.
This is because for as great as he is at the plate, he is a liability in the field and has hurt the Braves’ batting order and lineup as a direct result of that. Get Baldwin more at-bats!
The platoon between Baldwin and veteran Sean Murphy behind the dish has gone about as well as one could have hoped for this season. Not much has gone right for the Braves, but this is one of those few things. Baldwin’s bat has taken the National League by storm. Under the tutelage of former Atlanta backstop Eddie Perez, Baldwin is getting more and more comfortable behind the plate of late.
So if Atlanta does move Ozuna, that opens up a spot in the batting order for Baldwin and/or Murphy to seemingly play every day.
It also takes a ton of pressure of Ronald Acuña Jr.’s knees playing right field daily after working his way back from another torn ACL. Will Atlanta sign another designated hitter this offseason? Potentially, but I think a bit more lineup flexibility could go a long way for them now.
Ozuna has been through it all with the Braves. More good than bad, I recognize it will be ending soon.
