The Atlanta Braves, at this point, are looking ahead to the 2026 season. It’s been a disappointing season, and every Braves fan would say the same, but there’s still time for them to make moves now to ensure they are in a better position during the offseason and free agency to sign players to improve their roster immediately.
Although the trade deadline has come and gone, roster moves are being made left and right, and player transactions could play a role in what looks to be a really exciting MLB playoffs.
For a successful waiver-wire addition, a player must be released and picked up on waivers before clearing them. The MLB organization picking up the new player would then assume responsibility for the remainder of their contract.
Braves’ Marcell Ozuna Could Be Sneaky Waiver-Wire Addition
If the Atlanta Braves are gearing up for the 2026 season, their front office should consider freeing up more cap space before the season ends. They are currently $8 million below the luxury tax threshold. Still, they are out of playoff contention and giving many other players opportunities at just about every position on the field. A name to keep an eye on is certainly Marcell Ozuna, who garnered a lot of trade speculation but never moved.
Ozuna, 34 years old, is in his last year under contract with the Braves and will test free agency after the season’s end. He’s having somewhat of a down offensive season compared to hitting 40 home runs in 2023 and another 39 last season.
However, he has still mashed 19 long balls, including four in his previous five games. His OPS+ has surged up to 123, and he’s slugging .427 in 107 games. The Braves have essentially been out of contention since early July, and ever since then, Atlanta has been cautious with Ozuna, and he hasn’t necessarily been in the lineup every day.
There would no doubt be a strong market for Ozuna if the Braves front office happened to release him and get off the roughly $2.5 million left on his contract.
Braves Player Still Has Tremendous Value
According to Bleacher Report, Marcell Ozuna is a top candidate in MLB to be a waiver-wire steal:
“After all, Atlanta non-tendered both Griffin Canning and Ramón Laureano this past November to save about that much money, so willingly accepting setting money on fire at this point in a lost season would be strange. And if Saturday night was any indication—Ozuna hitting two home runs off Sandy Alcantara before Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save—there are bound to be some teams who would be thrilled to pay what’s left of their respective $16 million salaries to get them on the roster for the stretch run. Ozuna hasn’t homered at the same rate as he did over the past two seasons, but he clearly can still mash and he’s getting on base at one of the best clips in the majors.”
Will the Atlanta Braves end up releasing Ozuna? It would be a shocking move, but he could pay dividends for a team like the Cincinnati Reds, who could use a strong right-handed Designated Hitter for their current playoff push.
