Braves whiffed on in-division trade to relieve themselves of headache

The Atlanta Braves tried to trade away outfielder Marcell Ozuna this season. Their attempt failed, in part thanks to the Washington Nationals.

Marcell Ozuna has been a headache for the Braves the past few season thanks to several off-field incidents, which include a domestic violence arrest and a DUI. Were it not for his contract, it’s safe to assume Atlanta would have released Ozuna outright.

Ozuna’s play on the field hasn’t inspired much hope from the team, either. In 2022, he slashed just .226/.274/.414, all under he usual averages. The 2021 season didn’t fair much better. He simply hasn’t been the same hitter since signing a lofty four-year, $65 million contract extension.

Braves tried to trade Marcell Ozuna to Nationals

Per Mark Bowman of MLB.com, the Braves tried to deal Ozuna to the Nationals for Patrick Corbin this season. Corbin is his own problem, losing 16 and 19 games respectively the last two years, with ERAs above the 5.5 mark. He is still owed over $59 million.

“The Braves unsuccessfully tried to trade Marcell Ozuna to the Nationals in exchange for left-handed pitcher Patrick Corbin before the Trade Deadline. If Atlanta doesn’t find a suitable bad-contract swap, it could keep Ozuna or eat the $37 million still owed to him over the next two seasons,” Bowman wrote.

Essentially, Atlanta tried to trade one bad contract for another. The only difference is Corbin’s deal doesn’t come with considerable off-field damage.

It’s unknown why Washington didn’t take this offer. Ozuna has more to offer than Corbin at this point in his career, and could be one change of scenery away from replicating his 2020 campaign. Perhaps the Braves asked the Nats to take on some of Corbin’s remaining contract, which is more than the amount owed to Ozuna.

Either way, it’s not an offer that’s likely to be replicated at this juncture.