![\"Insider](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2209669686-e1745352259557.jpg?quality=65&strip=all\")
<\/p>\nThe Atlanta Braves\u00a0got off to a slow start and could look to shake up their roster with a major trade.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
ESPN MLB insider David Schoenfield named one player from every MLB team that could be dealt ahead of the trade deadline. For the Braves, Schoenfield believes the Braves could look to deal slugging outfielder Marcell Ozuna.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be shocking not to see the Braves recover from this slow start, but if they don\u2019t, Ozuna would be a fascinating player to consider,\u201d Schoenfield\u00a0wrote. \u201cHe\u2019s in the final year of a five-year deal and the Braves already have a lot of future commitments on the books, so there\u2019s no guarantee he\u2019ll re-sign with Atlanta, especially since his production warrants a bigger salary than the $16 million he\u2019s making this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cOzuna was one of the best hitters in baseball last year and is off to an even better start in 2025, so while he\u2019s limited to DH, he would fill a middle-of-the-order need for a DH-starved club (and given the lack of offense across the majors, this is a long list),\u201d Schoenfield added.<\/p>\n
As Schoenfield notes, Ozuna is in the\u00a0final year of his five-year, $65 million deal, so Atlanta could look to move him and not risk him walking in free agency for nothing.<\/p>\n
Ozuna is a slugging outfielder who will primarily be a DH going forward. To begin the 2025 season, Ozuna is hitting .323 with 4 home runs and 9 RBIs.<\/p>\n
Although Ozuna is in the final year of his deal, he says isn\u2019t thinking about any of that.<\/p>\n
Instead, Ozuna says he\u2019s just focused on playing baseball and isn\u2019t worried about his contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think on that,\u201d\u00a0Ozuna told Atlanta Journal-Constitution\u2019s Ken Sugiura on his free agency. \u201cI just come in and give you my best, as usual, and then play the game, just have fun.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Although being in a contract year can add some pressure, Ozuna doesn\u2019t care. Instead, he doesn\u2019t think it adds any pressure on him at all.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, because you put pressure on yourself,\u201d Ozuna added. \u201cI don\u2019t put pressure. I just go.\u201d<\/p>\n Ozuna is a three-time All-Star.<\/p>\n Atlanta enters play on April 22 on a four-game winning streak and is starting to turn it around.<\/p>\n The Braves\u00a0are 9-13, and star infielder Austin Riley says the winning streak is giving the team much-needed confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the biggest thing we take from this is confidence, confidence that it\u2019s in there,\u201d Riley\u00a0said. \u201cWe just got to keep plugging away. It\u2019s not going to happen overnight.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Braves manager Brian Snitker, meanwhile, believes the team is starting to believe in themselves<\/p>\n \u201cThey start believing in themselves again and they relax,\u201d Snitker said. \u201cA relaxed player plays at his best. I think this can do nothing but help us going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Atlanta started the year 0-7 after being swept by the\u00a0San Diego Padres\u00a0and\u00a0Los Angeles Dodgers. Since the first two series, the Braves have gone 9-6 to get back into contention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Atlanta Braves\u00a0got off to a slow start and could look to shake up their roster with a major trade. ESPN MLB insider David Schoenfield named one… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":50351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBraves on Winning Streak<\/h2>\n