Who would\u2019ve thought, entering the season, that the Atlanta Braves would be playing this type of baseball? After getting swept by the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend, it\u2019s almost tough to justify the Braves not selling at the deadline.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Atlanta now sits at 39-50 and is 13.5 games back in the National League East. 2-8 in the last 10 games, the Braves haven\u2019t done anything of significance, and it might be better to sell for the future.<\/p>\n
However, despite how poorly the team has played and the potential return they could get on one of the best players in Major League Baseball, the Braves don\u2019t plan to consider trading Ronald Acuna Jr., a decision that makes plenty of sense, despite where they stand.<\/p>\n
\u201cAtlanta has zero interest in trading Ronald Acun\u0303a Jr. Acun\u0303a is earning $17 million a year through 2026, and Atlanta has club options for $17 million in 2027 and 2028,\u201d wrote USA Today\u2019s Bob Nightengale. \u201cHe\u2019s not going anywhere.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n While trading Acuna wouldn\u2019t make much sense, others have suggested that the Atlanta Braves could move some of their other top players.<\/p>\n Mark Bowman of MLB.com recently looked at a few players who could be dealt, naming star second baseman\u00a0Ozzie Albies as a potential option. Albies hasn\u2019t played well this season, hitting .222 with six home runs and 28 RBIs, but there have been parts of his career when he\u2019s been one of the better second basemen in baseball, and that was evident during 2021 and 2023 when he earned two of his three All-Star nods.<\/p>\n \u201cRemember when everybody said the Braves got a steal when Albies signed a seven-year $35 million deal in April 2019 that includes $7 million options for the 2026 and \u201827 seasons,\u201d\u00a0Bowman wrote. \u201cWell, even with a $4 million buyout, there\u2019s strong reason to argue the option shouldn\u2019t be exercised next year. Albies\u2019 .613 OPS ranks 151th out of 157 qualified players this season and he ranks 35th out of 46 qualified second basemen with a minus-one outs above average.<\/p>\n \u201cIf medical personnel are confident Albies\u2019 offensive struggles are a lingering effect of last year\u2019s left wrist injury and next year will be different, then there might be reason to exercise the option. But if not, why not try to get something for him now?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n It was reported by Jim Bowden of The Athletic a few weeks ago that the team might not only refrain from selling, but also consider buying.<\/p>\n It remains uncertain if the plans have changed over the past three weeks, given the Braves\u2019 recent stretch, but it\u2019s telling that they didn\u2019t believe that they were going to sell then. Regarding an Acuna trade, if that\u2019s how they felt just three weeks ago, as others have touched on, there\u2019s no chance they\u2019re moving on from the MVP.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter subpar starts, the Braves, (Boston) Red Sox and (Texas) Rangers don\u2019t appear to be postseason teams this year, but most in the industry believe they will make trades to try to improve their respective rosters for the rest of this season and next rather than being typical sellers,\u201d\u00a0wrote Bowden. \u201cThe Braves will focus on acquiring more pitching (starting and relieving).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Who would\u2019ve thought, entering the season, that the Atlanta Braves would be playing this type of baseball? After getting swept by the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":66957,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nShould the Braves Be Sellers?<\/h2>\n
Would the Braves Actually Look to Acquire More Talent at the Deadline?<\/h2>\n