We are just over a month away from the MLB trade deadline, and teams across the league are going to have some tough decisions to make in late July. The Atlanta Braves are a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks, as they could take three different approaches to the remainder of the 2025 season — and all of them make at least some amount of sense.
At just 37-41, 9.5 games out in the NL East and six games out of the last NL Wild Card spot, the postseason may be a reach for this Atlanta squad. This is usually the recipe for being sellers at the deadline, but GM Alex Anthopoulos is adamant that will not be the case. Despite Anthopoulos' strong promise to his fan base, there are already rumors floating that Atlanta could move a major piece in Marcell Ozuna, according to Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan of ESPN.
With Ozuna's contract expiring at season's end, he would be the ideal trade piece if the Braves do choose to be sellers at the deadline. Many contenders would benefit from a power bat like that in the middle of their order, and it's the lone path for Atlanta to start building for the future. However, it doesn't seem like the entire organization is on the same page on whether that's actually in the team's best interest.
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Ozuna trade rumors indicates trouble in the Atlanta Braves organization
There is no doubt that Braves fans expect their team to be competitive on a yearly basis, and 2025 has just been a perfect storm of negativity. Trying to wrap your head around a top three World Series favorite missing the postseason is difficult. Anthopoulos is trying to console fans by saying he absolutely will not sell at the deadline, but he has made promises before that he didn't keep: Prior to the start of this season, Anthopoulos told reporters that the luxury tax would not prevent him from making major offseason moves to improve the team. Contrary to those statements, Atlanta attempted to fill a lot of needs internally to save money.
Atlanta is in a weird situation, to say the least. With manager Brian Snitker likely moving on from the Braves at the end of the season (whether due to retirement or because he's relieved of his duties) and the core of the team not getting any younger, it could make sense for them to move Ozuna now and try to pivot a bit more toward 2026. Then again, if Anthopoulos goes back on his promise (again), there will be no respect for the GM moving forward and it could create a dumpster fire within the organization.
Regardless of whether Atlanta chooses to stay idle, sell or buy at the trade deadline, they have a reasonable argument as to why they would do so. No matter what the choice turns out to be, it would be more comforting for fans to know that everyone has the same thought process and is working towards the same goals. But right now, that is simply not the case.