Braves Trade Pitch Moves 40 Home Run Slugger to Mariners as Struggles Continue

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Brian Snitker on the field against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Atlanta Braves entered the season with World Series expectations, but have quickly fallen off a cliff.

The Braves, currently in fourth place in the National League East, even somehow below the Miami Marlins, just haven’t played the type of baseball they were expected to.

Whether it’s due to injuries, poor coaching decisions, or something else, the Braves have been horrible, and it’s tough to ignore at this point. A 40-51, Atlanta will likely be sellers at the deadline, depending on how things go over the next week or two.

Who Will Teams Look to Acquire From the Braves’ Roster?

Among the options the Atlanta Braves could look to trade includes Marcell Ozuna.

Ozuna has been one of the best power bats in Major League Baseball over the past few years, but he’s dealt with a few injuries, and his power numbers have drastically dipped. Throughout the season, he’s hitting just .238 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs. That’s much worse than the previous two seasons, when he hit 39 home runs last season and 40 the year before.

However, when searching for potential trade options, The Athletic recently linked him to a trade with the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners are expected to be buyers and could really use some offensive help.

“Is Atlanta finally ready to call it quits on 2025? Another losing streak and two more pitcher injuries have its playoff odds in single digits. As an impending free agent who slugged 79 homers the last two years, Ozuna makes sense as the first piece to go. However, outside of a significant jump in walk rate, everything else is down this season. He’s on pace for barely 20 homers as a strict DH, and he’s been in a deep slump for more than a month. Ozuna also has 10-and-5 rights, allowing him to veto any trade,” they wrote .

Ozuna’s Name in Multiple Trade Rumors

The Athletic isn’t the only one to name Ozuna a trade candidate for the Atlanta Braves. Recently, Mark Bowman of MLB.com also believes that the slugger could be traded.

He added that his right hip issue has been a problem, and considering he’s playing on the final year of his contract, it makes things even more likely on the trade front.

“The Big Bear, who is in the final year of his contract, was one of baseball’s best hitters the past two seasons, but he has been one of the game’s least productive players over the past month. He ranks 178th out of 189 qualified players with a .543 OPS since June 1. The return might not be great, but there could still be some teams willing to gamble on Ozuna, like the Braves gambled on Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario in 2021.

“Will the right hip issue Ozuna previously battled be an issue? Snitker and Ozuna have repeatedly said the hip is fine. And though the production creates reason to be skeptical, he hasn’t shown any signs of hesitancy when running the bases,” he wrote .

The Atlanta Braves will also have to hope that Ozuna doesn’t void a trade, as he has an opportunity to do so because of how many years he’s been in Atlanta and has been in the league but from his sake, he likely wants to have a chance to win, and Atlanta just isn’t giving them that right now. The 10-5 rule, however, could complicate things.

Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan