Braves Predicted to Cut Ties With 40 Home Run Slugger in Free Agency

Getty

The Atlanta Braves could be trading star slugger Marcell Ozuna.

It hasn’t been an ideal season for the Atlanta Braves, a team that was expected to have a chance to at least compete for a playoff spot.

Instead, the Braves are 62-76 and essentially don’t have any chance of making the postseason, unless they go on one of the biggest runs in Major League Baseball history over the next month and multiple teams collapse ahead of them.

The winter will also bring challenges to the Braves, as they have a few free agency decisions to make. It sounds like the Braves will continue to go all in over the next few years, but there are questions about whether Marcell Ozuna will remain with the organization.

When predicting what might happen with Ozuna, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report predicted that he’d be on his way out, adding that, because of a disappointing season for the Braves, allowing the soon-to-be 35 rule to leave would be the right decision.

“Ozuna has hit 147 home runs in parts of six seasons with the Braves. But while he’s still productive, his OPS has dropped from .925 in 2024 to .762 in 2025.

“After a disappointing season, the Braves will likely be looking to shake things up, and letting Ozuna, who will turn 35 in November, walk would be a way to do that,” he wrote .

Is Marcell Ozuna in His Final Days With the Braves?

Reports were indicating during the trade deadline and before it that the Atlanta Braves were looking to move on from Ozuna then.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t trade him, which would’ve helped the team get a few prospects in return. Ozuna hasn’t had a great season in comparison to seasons past, but he’s still a hitter who can hit 40-plus home runs in a single year and could’ve helped a contending team in the back end of the campaign.

However, according to a report at the deadline, Ozuna vetoed his trade because he has 10-and-5 rights.

“According to my source, they tried to trade him to 3 teams but he vetoed all of them,” Ryan Cothran posted on X/Twitter.

Would the Braves Consider Bringing Back Marcell Ozuna?

If the Atlanta Braves bring Ozuna back, it has to be on their ideal contract. Ozuna should be on the Braves roster only if they make the correct moves with the remainder of the team and bring him back late in the winter.

However, considering his ability to leave the yard at any moment, it isn’t likely that he’ll be available for too long.

However, the reasoning is evident for the Braves, with Eric Cole of FanSided outlining them. He noted that the Braves have too many holes on their roster to consider a reunion with a player who is only a designated hitter.

“One suspects that there are a few contending teams who needed a bat at the deadline who are kicking themselves right now for not pushing harder to acquire him from the Braves.

“However, the facts for the Braves’ remain the same. They still have Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy that they want to give regular at-bats to at designated hitter and Ozuna is going to require real money to try and sign as a free agent. With so many holes on their roster at shortstop, the rotation, and the bullpen, paying Ozuna to DH again just doesn’t make much sense especially at his age and with that lingering hip injury of his,” he noted .

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