The Atlanta Braves are heading into the trade deadline far out of the playoff picture, putting them in a position to sell. There is a catch to the Braves' trade deadline plan, and it's that general manager Alex Anthopoulos has said that any players under contract beyond this season are not available in trades. That means the only players being dealt at the deadline out of Atlanta are those set to be free agents this winter.
One of those impending free agents is designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, and the belief among insiders is that he will get traded by the Braves by July 31. The Braves' latest moves prove just that.
On Monday, the Braves officially called up catcher Sandy Leon. This moves comes as manager Brian Snitker said last Friday that the team plans on alternating Sean Murphy and rookie Drake Baldwin between the catcher and designated hitter positions moving forward. Considering that, that all but spells the end of Ozuna's time in Atlanta, as he primarily the DH on the Braves.
Snit said he didn't talk to Ozuna about his intention to have Murphy and Baldwin flip-flop between the C and DH spots going forward. He said the message was delivered when he addressed the team yesterday and made it clear the most productive players will be in the lineup.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 19, 2025
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Braves' new DH plan spells the end of Marcell Ozuna's time in Atlanta
Ozuna has served as Atlanta's designated hitter in every game he's played this season. In fact, Ozuna hasn't played in the outfield since the 2023 season. The fact that both Murphy and Baldwin are going to be taking over the position when they're not the catcher shows that Ozuna's time may be up.
Snitker tried to downplay any trade chatter on Monday by saying that Ozuna will get playing time against ideal pitchers. Not only that, but Snitker declared that Ozuna's "not gonna rot" on the bench.
#Braves’ Snitker said that as long as Ozuna’s here, “he’s not gonna rot” on the bench. Said he’ll play him against certain pitchers that are good matchups, guys he’s seen before and had more success against than Murphy/Baldwin.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) July 21, 2025
New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman recently predicted that Ozuna "is gonna get traded," and that he won't receive a qualifying offer from the Braves.
Ozuna is in the midst of a down year, as he is nowhere near close to matching his home run totals in 2023 and 2024. In 92 games this year, Ozuna recorded a .235 batting average, a .361 on-base percentage, a .390 slugging percentage, 13 home runs, 37 runs, 42 RBI, 76 hits, 89 strikeouts and 64 walks in 323 at-bats.
Maybe Ozuna will put up better numbers on a new team. He could be the slugger a postseason contender needs. Even though Snitker says Ozuna will still get playing time, the writing is on the wall for his time in Atlanta. If the Braves are set on trading players on expiring contracts, Ozuna may very well be one of the more valuable assets they have.