The Atlanta Braves tried to trade designated hitter Marcell Ozuna at the deadline, but struggled to do so in part because of his checkered past. Ozuna has been arrested for domestic violence issues and a DUI. He also owns 10-and-5 rights in his contract as he’s picked up 10 seasons of MLB service time and spent the last five years with the same team, which essentially amounts to a partial trade approval. Ozuna was reportedly willing to accept a deal to any team that offered him consistent playing time, but that hasn’t mattered much.

The Braves, meanwhile, won’t give Ozuna that consistent playing time in part because they prefer to play both of their catchers at the same time. Drake Baldwin is an NL Rookie of the Year candidate, while Sean Murphy is, well, Sean Murphy. Ozuna doesn’t fit into the Braves long-term plans, which is why they wanted to trade him.

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Why are the Braves struggling to trade Marcell Ozuna?

Yet, as FanSided’s Cody Williams detailed, that has proven tougher than expected.

“Another way to say that would be that the Braves are having trouble finding an interested team who is willing to take on the baggage with Ozuna in addition to the fact that he limits the versatility of a lineup. For contenders who would be looking to bank on a bounce-back final two months from the current Braves slugger, that could end up leading to the disastrous outcome where Atlanta isn’t able to trade Ozuna and is either riding out the rest of the season with him mired away on a non-contending roster, or they could even waive him,” Williams wrote.

Braves reveal their Marcell Ozuna fate in the worst way

If the Braves cannot find a suitor for Ozuna, they will likely dump him in some other fashion. He has little use on this roster if they are not competing for a postseason spot.

On Thursday, Atlanta made it clear they were struggling to trade Ozuna when they put him in their lineup against the Cincinnati Reds. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman also reported that Ozuna was in the clubhouse in uniform, along with another player the Braves wanted to trade in Raisel Iglesias.

If either of those players remain on the roster past the 6pm ET deadline, it’s not a good look for Alex Anthopoulos. The Braves need change and to rebuild their farm system, which is one of the worst in the majors. This deadline was supposed to be their opportunity to do so.