{"id":60393,"date":"2025-06-09T00:58:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T00:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=60393"},"modified":"2025-06-09T00:58:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T00:58:27","slug":"mlb-insiders-drop-strong-hints-on-braves-trade-deadline-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=60393","title":{"rendered":"MLB Insiders Drop Strong Hints on Braves&#8217; Trade Deadline Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250608_160840_0000.png?w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250608_160840_0000.png?w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250608_160840_0000.png?w=1100&amp;quality=15&amp;strip=all 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250608_160840_0000.png?w=1350&amp;quality=35&amp;strip=all 1350w\" alt=\"MLB Insiders Drop Strong Hints on Braves' Trade Deadline Plans\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Atlanta Braves are nine games under .500, fresh off one of the ugliest stretches in recent franchise memory. They\u2019ve blown leads, cycled through closers, and watched their All-Stars walk off the field in disbelief. But no matter how brutal the first two months have been, insiders say the Braves aren\u2019t selling\u2014and the reasons run deeper than unquestioning optimism.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Isn\u2019t a Fire Sale Team\u2014Even Now<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">According to both Bob Nightengale and Ken Rosenthal, the Braves <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">aren\u2019t headed<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> toward a deadline teardown. Not even close.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cNo matter where Atlanta is at the trade deadline, the team <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">isn\u2019t expected<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to be a seller,\u201d Nightengale wrote in USA Today, pointing to Marcell Ozuna as the only real candidate to <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">be moved<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u2014and only because he\u2019s a pending free agent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Rosenthal echoed that sentiment on <\/span>Foul Territory <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, saying the Braves would have to be \u201cburied\u201d in the standings for a sell-off to make sense. With three wild-card spots and parity across the National League, it\u2019s hard to imagine any team <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">being truly buried<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> by July.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cIf you\u2019re around .500, you\u2019ve got a chance,\u201d Rosenthal said. \u201cNow, they\u2019re not at .500 right now\u2026 but if they\u2019re within striking distance, they\u2019ll stay the course.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Ozuna Exception\u2014and Why It\u2019s Not a Sign of a Fire Sale<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Let\u2019s address the one name that keeps coming up: Marcell Ozuna. Yes, he\u2019s 34. Yes, he\u2019s a free agent after this season. And yes, he\u2019s still productive, with a .841 OPS that leads the team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But moving Ozuna wouldn\u2019t be about rebuilding\u2014it would be about asset management. The Braves know they may lose him in the winter anyway. If they can trade him for bullpen help or a controllable bat, it\u2019s simply smart baseball. It\u2019s not waving the white flag. It\u2019s a roster reset.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Snitker Safe, Core Intact, and Still Expecting a Run<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Manager Brian Snitker\u2019s job appears safe, even after six straight losses, including two brutal walk-offs against the Giants. The front office remains aligned behind him, and with Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. back and Bryce Elder dealing, there\u2019s a belief inside the building that things can turn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Nightengale reported Snitker <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">is expected<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to retire at season\u2019s end and transition into a front office role. In the meantime, he\u2019s earned the right to finish what he started. Seven straight playoff appearances and a World Series ring will buy you that.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What Selling Would Mean\u2014And Why It Won\u2019t Happen<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">To sell seriously, Atlanta would have to consider dealing players with terms\u2014like Raisel Iglesias or Chris Sale. But Rosenthal explicitly ruled out Sale as a realistic option, noting the lefty <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was only mentioned<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> as a theoretical impact piece, not a trade candidate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Iglesias? He\u2019s lost his closer role after a disastrous week but remains a high-velocity arm under contract through 2026. Teams don\u2019t sell arms like that lightly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Braves\u2019 front office isn\u2019t built to rebuild, especially not midseason. President of Baseball Operations Alex Anthopoulos locked this core in for the long haul\u2014Michael Harris II, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, Spencer Strider\u2014and they\u2019re all signed through 2027 or beyond. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> is a franchise that bets on stability.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">No Panic\u2014Just Patience<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If anything, the Braves\u2019 current situation is testing the limits of that stability. Their bullpen has melted down. Their offense is ice-cold in high-leverage spots. They\u2019ve lost 13 of 16 and lead the majors in one-run losses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">And yet\u2014they\u2019re still in shouting distance of .500. Still not out of the NL Wild Card picture. And still too talented to count out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Selling might feel like a solution when the walls are caving in. But this isn\u2019t Washington or Miami. The Braves aren\u2019t tearing down. They\u2019re waiting to punch back.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Alvin Garcia Alvin Garcia is a Puerto Rican MLB writer for Heavy.com. His work has appeared on FanSided, LWOS, NewsBreak, Athlon Sports, and Yardbarker, with coverage spanning all teams across the league. More about Alvin Garcia<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Braves<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite a brutal skid and sub-.500 record, MLB insiders say the Braves aren\u2019t selling\u2014unless Marcell Ozuna is moved as a rental.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":60394,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>MLB Insiders Drop Strong Hints on Braves&#039; Trade Deadline Plans - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=60393\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MLB Insiders Drop Strong Hints on Braves&#039; 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