The Atlanta Braves have been one of the more disappointing teams in baseball this season. They began the year with World Series expectations, but now look like a postseason afterthought. As a result of the struggles, the Braves could turn into aggressive sellers at the trade deadline next month. It’s unclear whether general manager Alex Anthopoulos is going to sell, but it might make a lot of sense.
MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan recently suggested the Braves could use slugger Marcell Ozuna as a trade chip ahead of the trade deadline. “Anthopoulos has made it clear that controllable assets like Sale, who has a 2026 club option, aren’t going anywhere,” Harrigan wrote. “But if he’s forced to reassess the club’s Deadline approach, we could see Atlanta trade away its pending free agents. Ozuna is by far the best player on that short list, which also includes relievers Raisel Iglesias and Rafael Montero and outfielder Alex Verdugo. “While Ozuna’s power numbers have dropped off in 2025, he’s still reaching base at a .379 clip.
He’s also not far removed from producing 79 homers and a .552 slugging percentage across 2023-24, making him an appealing middle-of-the-order bat for contending teams in need of offensive reinforcements.” Trading Ozuna makes more than enough sense for the Braves. With his contract expiring at the end of the year, it seems unlikely the Braves will pay the money to re-sign him. With that in mind, it seems like the rest of the season will be Ozuna’s last games with the Braves.
Trading him would net the Braves a few solid prospects in return rather than losing him in free agency for nothing. If Atlanta is open to selling, trading Ozuna makes more sense than anything.
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