If the Atlanta Braves move on from Marcell Ozuna, there are only a few teams that realistically make much sense for the Braves to trade with.

One of them could be the Seattle Mariners, who arguably have the best farm system in Major League Baseball.

Factor that in with the Mariners rotation being one of the best in the game, and there’s reason to believe the Braves and Mariners could potentially get down in a deal.

When searching for trade options around Major League Baseball, Sports Illustrated recently proposed the idea of the Braves sending Ozuna to the Mariners.

While moving Ozuna would be a tough thing to do, he’s set to hit the free agency market at the end of the year, and the Mariners might be desperate to add a bat.

“After mashing 79 homers over the last two seasons and finishing fourth in NL MVP voting last year, Ozuna’s power has significantly fallen off in his age-34 season, though he’s partially compensated by trailing only Juan Soto in walk rate (17.3%).

“It’s hard to imagine the Braves waving the white flag unless things really unravel, especially after they won the 2021 World Series with a late-season surge sparked by additions from GM Alex Anthopoulos. But if Atlanta ends up dealing anyone, it’ll probably be their only pending free agent of much value,” SI wrote.

What Is the Braves’ Biggest Need?

According to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, the Atlanta Braves could be interested in adding a starting pitcher. With the Seattle Mariners arguably having the best rotation in baseball, featuring Bryan Woo, Luis Castillo, Emerson Hancock, Logan Gilbert, and many others, despite Gilbert’s recent return from injury, is it possible that the Mariners would be interested in sending one of those arms to the Braves?

Well, possibly, but regardless, there are others the Braves could look at in their farm system.

“The Braves could certainly look to land a starter via trade. But it’s not like they have a surplus of prospects with strong trade value. The fact that they are sticking with Fuentes, after he’s allowed 10 earned runs through his first 8 1/3 career innings, creates further concern about Hurston Waldrep, a 2023 first-round pick who has a 13.2 percent walk rate with Triple-A Gwinnett,” he wrote.

Will te Mariners Be Aggressive Ahead of the Deadline?

According to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, the Seattle Mariners are one of the teams that can be the “boldest” around baseball at this year’s deadline.

He added that with all the capital that the Mariners have in their farm system, it makes sense if they go out and try to make a blockbuster deal. If Ozuna gets traded by the Atlanta Braves, he’d likely be the best player moved.

“They are in position to be one of the boldest teams in this year’s market, given their prospect capital from MLB Pipeline’s No. 5-ranked farm system, and that sources have said that ownership will green light increased spending at this year’s Deadline. But the market will obviously be dictated by who’s available — which in turn will be dictated by which teams decide to buy or sell. 

“This would be a prime year for a player like Manny Machado (2018), Trea Turner (2021) or Juan Soto (2022) to be available — because the Mariners would have the ability to make a legitimate offer — but that level of impact bat just isn’t out there this season,” he wrote.

It makes sense no matter which way the Braves want to go, so perhaps this is a deal that could work out.