he Atlanta Braves are in the middle of a nightmare season. Rather than contending and competing for the top seed in the National League, the Braves are seemingly out of the postseason race at the All-Star break.

With Atlanta struggling, the front office could look to sell ahead of the upcoming trade deadline. This would be a stark contrast to what Braves fans expected coming into the season, but it seems necessary.

Nick Villano of FanSided recently predicted the Braves would cut ties with designated hitter and former MVP candidate Marcell Ozuna in the coming weeks.

“While this article would be more fun if Acuña or Matt Olson were available, but it’s much more likely the Braves take an approach to retool and come back next year stronger,” Villano wrote. “One player who doesn’t have that gravity is Marcel Ozuna. He has been really good for the Braves, but he’s a free agent after this season, he’s exclusively a designated hitter, and he’s 34 years old. He works better as a bat for hire.

“The Seattle Mariners make too much sense here. They finally mixed their elite pitching with decent hitting, and adding Ozuna would give them a potent lineup for the playoffs.”

Trading Ozuna makes perfect sense for the Braves. The slugger’s contract expires at the end of this season.

Atlanta likely won’t re-sign the slugger in the offseason. He’s getting older and is expected to sign a massive deal. It’s unlikely Atlanta will be willing to pay top dollar for an older designated hitter.

If Atlanta opts to trade him, it could land a few solid prospects in return.

With the current state of the Braves in mind, it would make a lot more sense to trade the slugger for prospects than it would to keep him and attempt to re-sign him in the winter.