Entering the regular season, the Atlanta Braves had high hopes. Coming off an injury-plagued 2024 season, both Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider were set to return early in the year and guide Atlanta back into the MLB postseason. It has been anything but smooth sailing for Atlanta this year though.
The Braves are 27-37 and in fourth place of the National League East, only 2.5 games ahead of the rebuilding Miami Marlins. The lineup, besides Acuna, has mostly struggled. Strider has looked nothing like his pre-injury self. The bullpen has been in shambles, and the latest evidence has been calling up potential Hall of Famer Craig Kimbrel, pitching him in a high-leverage situation immediately, only to designate him for assignment the next day.
Which begs the question: What should the Braves prioritize heading into the trade deadline?
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Braves trade deadline options: What comes next?
A hard sell, featuring Chris Sale and other prominent players on the Braves, feels highly, highly unlikely. But moving on from Marcell Ozuna, who’s in the final year of his contract, makes plenty of sense for the Braves.
Why the Braves should move on from Marcell Ozuna
Ozuna, 34, is one of the preeminent home run hitters in baseball. He hit 40 home runs in 2023. He hit 39 home runs in 2024. While he has 10 home runs this season, he’s still one of the best pure power hitters in baseball, and for a contending team in need of offense, Ozuna would represent a premium option.
Since he’s on an expiring contract, it would not take a massive haul to acquire Ozuna. It’s unclear what the Braves would seek in trade talks for him, and it’s very likely that the asking price will not leak, given that executive Alex Anthopoulos runs one of the most secretive organizations in sports, not just baseball. But a trade to acquire Ozuna would surely not require any team to gut their farm system.
So there’s no reason that contending teams (I'm looking at you, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres or any other team) should not at least make a phone call. He may not offer anything on defense — in fact, he’s played solely as designated hitter since 2024 — but he can singlehandedly change an offense with his presence in the heart of the order.