The 2025 season has proven to be utterly disastrous for the Atlanta Braves. Not only are injuries piling up, but the team is now 44-60 overall, good for fourth place in the NL East, and the fourth-worst record in the NL. It's gone so poorly to the point where the Braves are clear trade deadline sellers.
While the Braves figure to sell off at least some of their veteran talent, it's not as if there's much Alex Anthopoulos can do. The Braves still hope to compete in 2026, so trading players locked in under contract is a non-starter. They'll look to trade veterans on expiring contracts, but they don't have many of those players, and the few that do exist, won't have much, if any, value. Well, that's with one exception - Raisel Iglesias.
2025 has not been kind to Iglesias either, but his track record combined with how he's pitched lately makes him an intriguing enough asset to land the Braves something of value in return. Perhaps a team like the Seattle Mariners, who expect to be “as aggressive as anyone” in the bullpen market per Jerry Dipoto, can match up with the Braves on a deal.
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Braves must trade Raisel Iglesias at the trade deadline
Again, the 2025 season has not been kind to Iglesias, but he's been better lately. Yes, he did allow a run his last time out, but that was only the second appearance in the last 18 times he's taken the mound in which he's allowed a run to score. Not only has Iglesias been mostly dominant of late in the run prevention column, but he's struck out 21 batters in his last 16.2 innings of work. He's looked more like his old dominant self lately.
No, Iglesias won't land the Braves a top 100 prospect or anything close to that, but given his track record and how he's pitched lately, he should be able to net Atlanta something decent. With Marcell Ozuna losing virtually all of his value, and not many other veterans on expiring contracts having much value to begin with, an Iglesias trade must happen, and Anthopoulos must get something for him. This is the only player the Braves can sell somewhat high on.
The Mariners, again, look like a team that could make sense.
This Braves-Mariners trade would give Braves an ideal Raisel Iglesias replacement
A mock trade between the Braves and Mariners that'd send Iglesias to Seattle could look like this. Iglesias won't net any of the Mariners' high-end prospects, but the Braves can trade Iglesias for his ideal replacement, Juan Burgos.
Burgos, Seattle's No. 18 prospect per MLB Pipeline, could join Atlanta's bullpen immediately and thrive. He has a 0.60 ERA in 24 minor league appearances this season, and struck out eight batters in 6.2 innings of work across four big league appearances with the Mariners. All four of those appearances, the first four of his big league career, came within the month of July.
In addition to Burgos, the Braves would acquire Chia-Shi Shen, another top 30 prospect in Seattle's system. Shen is still a ways away as he made his professional debut this season and is only in A-Ball, but he's a worthwhile lottery ticket the Braves can take a chance on.
The Mariners likely won't want to trade Burgos, especially for a rental, but you have to give to get. When Iglesias is going well, having him pitch the eighth inning in a role he's excelled in the past, in front of Andres Munoz, can give Seattle one of the best late-game duos in the game. This deal would not involve any of the team's top 15 prospects, giving the Mariners more than enough ammo to make a big splash (Eugenio Suarez) and still have a great farm system left over.
The Braves might want more, but with Iglesias having a rocky season and being on an expiring contract, this might be as good a deal as they can get. It makes sense for both sides.