The Atlanta Braves continue to slide in the standings with no end in sight. This team just isn't very good. A lot of the stars haven't played like stars since 2023. The entire Opening Day rotation is on the IL, leaving the Braves with Spencer Strider and the likes of Erick Fedde or Bryce Elder. It's all very bleak.
Next season should be better, but that's what we said last season. It's time for Alex Anthopoulos to take a hard look in the mirror and consider a few foundational changes. The Braves need to beef up their depth chart and fill out the farm system, lest injuries keep knocking them out of contention every. single. year.
That said, a few of the Braves' veteran staples are more realistic trade candidates than folks may think at first glance. Atlanta has broadcast its desire to only trade expiring contracts and run it back next season, but is that really a viable path forward? Nope.
Here are a few names closer to the chopping block than they realize.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the Discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
3. C Sean Murphy
With Drake Baldwin rocketing up the NL Rookie of the Year leaderboard, veteran backstop Sean Murphy suddenly feels like a legitimate trade chip. Both are too good to keep out of the lineup. Atlanta has taken to alternating between catcher and DH reps for both, relegating the soon-to-be-traded Marcell Ozuna to a reserve role. But, in reality, it feels a bit silly to keep two elite catchers on the roster when so many front offices around the league would kill for even one catcher with Murphy's bat.
Lost in the abject misery of this Braves season has been arguably the best individual stretch of Murphy's career. The 30-year-old is slashing .233/.320/.498 with 16 home runs and 41 RBI in 223 at-bats. After an injury kept him on the shelf early in the campaign, Murphy is hitting with more oomph than he ever has. He remains a top-notch defensive backstop as well, boasting a tremendous relationship with the whole Braves pitching staff.
Murphy is under contract through 2029 at a team-friendly number, but Baldwin has usurped him as the clear catcher of the future in Atlanta. That doesn't mean Murphy is not valuable to them, but the Braves could get a substantial haul for selling high in the next few days. Quality offensive catchers are a rare commodity and Murphy's favorable contract could net Atlanta multiple top prospects from a needy contender.
2. 2B Ozzie Albies
Ozzie Albies' contract for next season includes a $7 million club option, which is a no-brainer for the Braves. It's great value and he still offers substantial potential at 28 years old. That said, another dour campaign has raised more questions than answers about Albies' future. Maybe it's bad business to trade him while his value is so low, but the opposite argument is equally valid. Atlanta might want to cash in while there's still the illusion of potential for Albies to return to All-Star form.
We cannot know the future, but Albies looks like a shell of himself. He's batting .219 with a troubling .617 OPS and nine home runs in 393 at-bats. There is some bad luck involved, but Albies' analytics are in the toilet across the board. He's bottom-15th percentile in expected average and slugging, hard-hit rate, barrel rate, exit velocity — the list goes on. He's fine on the base paths. He's fine in the field. But the offense is catastrophically bad, continuing a negative trend that dates back to last season.
The Braves can straight-up improve their production at second base with the right in-house promotion or a separate trade. It won't take much. The hope is that Albies' output moves back in the right direction come 2026, but if it doesn't, the Braves will have even more trouble trading him next July. If the right offer comes Anthopoulos' way, he needs to take it seriously.
1. LHP Chris Sale
All the reporting around Chris Sale suggests that Atlanta will pick up his $18 million club option for next season and run it back. That is reasonable. Sale won the NL Cy Young award in 2024 and he was a frontrunner yet again this season before an unfortunate rib injury. And yet, Sale is also 36 years old, with a long and troubling history of injuries far worse than a broken rib. It is more than fair to wonder if Atlanta is best served by selling high.
Sale, even hurt and even at his advanced age, would return a huge haul for the Braves. Contenders would line up around the block to add arguably the best left-handed arm in the National League. Sale's résumé has few equals in MLB and he's still throwing absolute gas in his "old" age. He should be back for the playoffs in October, so this injury (in theory) is only a temporary setback.
The Braves' desire to run it back and hope for better injury luck next season is completely understandable. But that's exactly what Atlanta did last year, when the team was at least still contending for a spot in the playoffs, and it did not work out. Durability is not a strength of the Braves' roster, top to bottom. Sale is also getting older. It's hard to imagine his value peaking higher in 2026 when he's in a walk year.
If Atlanta gets to July 2026 and Sale is on an expiring contract and the team isn't competitive, Anthopoulos will need to trade him. Why not get ahead of things a bit and maximize the return? The Braves can still plan on winning games next season, but now is the time to dump Sale and boost the farm system.