The Atlanta Braves have some massive decisions to make in the next five weeks.
Though it’s been an awful start to 2025, the Braves aren’t out of the hunt yet. Thanks to their fourth-straight win over the rival New York Mets on Monday night, they’ve crept to within six games of a playoff spot in the National League.
That’s still a tough mountain to climb, though, and the recent rib fracture to ace Chris Sale only makes the task tougher. So while the Braves have publicly resisted the notion of selling at the trade deadline, they have to be weighing the possibility behind closed doors.
If Atlanta does wind up buried in the standings by the trade deadline, one has to imagine designated hitter Marcell Ozuna will be a hot commodity.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan assigned Ozuna a 25 percent chance of being traded in their deadline preview. They listed seven teams, including the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox, as potential landing spots for the three-time All-Star.
“Ozuna is a stone-cold DH, playing two games in the field in 2023 as his last regular-season experience defensively. Ozuna is also in a contract year, but his power numbers are down a notch from his standout .302 average and 39-homer performance last season,” the authors wrote.
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“His on-base percentage remains among the highest of potential trade candidates. If anyone is moving from Atlanta, he’s the likeliest candidate, with free agency beckoning.”
The 34-year-old Ozuna has slumped of late, and he’s known to be playing through a hip injury. He has a .791 OPS, down from over .900 the last two seasons, but that still makes him a 20 percent better hitter than league average.
Ozuna’s Braves contract will total five years, $81 million after the team picked up his club option. If he were traded, his new team would assume the remainder of his $16 million 2025 salary.
Atlanta still wants Ozuna to be part of the turnaround, but regardless of whether or not they stay in the race, he needs to get hot to maximize his value.
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