Braves rumors: d’Arnaud trade ‘unlikely’, Duvall still loves ATL, Ohtani floated

All the important Atlanta Braves news having to do with Travis d’Arnaud, Adam Duvall and Shohei Ohtani is right here for you to enjoy on the absolutely finest of Sunday afternoons.

So much news is popping off about the Atlanta Braves, whether that be Travis d’Arnaud on the trading block, Adam Duvall potentially interested in coming back to The ATL and what to make of Shohei Ohtani’s impending free agency.

In truth, the only thing that matters today is taking two-of-three from the surprisingly really awesome Cincinnati Reds. They haven’t been this good since Joey Votto won MVP or when Barry Larkin was still very much in his hall-of-fame prime. Either way, the Braves are still the team to beat in the National League right now, but we are so far away from getting into October baseball.

Whether it be silly d’Arnaud trade talks, Duvall’s love for The ATL or Ohtani’s highly-unlikely offseason arrival, we’ve got you scattered, smothered and covered when it comes to the Braves!

Atlanta Braves rumors: What if Shohei Ohtani wanted to play for a great team?

For as fricking sweet as it would be to see Ohtani in a Braves uniform, there are so many reasons why this is not happening at all. We are more likely to see the 2023 Atlanta Falcons win the Super Bowl than for Ohtani to play For The A. He may want to win more than anything in the world, but for financial and Liberty Media reasons, Ohtani is so going to play for somebody else next season.

Yes, he could return to the Los Angeles Angels, but not even he and Mike Trout can make the Halos all that interesting, or all that competitive. The average annual value he would garner on his next contract after hitting the open market would be too much for Liberty Media’s liking. It is why he will end up playing for Mickey Mouse championships in L.A. or not win the NL East in New York.

Although it would be so unbelievably horrible for a player we all kind of love in Ohtani to join either the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Mets, just prepare yourself for that to be next season’s reality. While Alex Anthopoulos may give Ohtani an offer to come play for the Braves, it will not be anything close to what he will command on the open market. To the highest bidder Ohtani will go!

Unless his desire to win is greater than alienating the entire MLBPA, Ohtani is not going to Atlanta.