What will the Atlanta Braves do with their expiring free agents ahead of the trade deadline?
Anyone bold enough to predict the Atlanta Braves becoming trade deadline sellers before the season deserves credit, if those people even exist.
The Braves haven't missed the playoffs since 2018, and their roster this season looked playoff-worthy on paper. But injuries have struck for the second-straight summer, and more so than ever before, this team is flat-out failing to perform.
With a 42-53 record and a 9 1/2-game deficit in the Wild Card race, it looks like the Braves will be forced to throw in the towel ahead of the Jul. 31 deadline. And worse still, they don't have any huge trade chips on expiring contracts.
Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna is the closest thing they have to a big-name rental, and unfortunately, the 34-year-old is having a down year at the plate. But perhaps the Braves can still get something for him from a team that desperately needs offense.
In a recent YouTube video, Jim Riley of BALLCAP Sports predicted that Ozuna would be flipped to the Texas Rangers, who sit one game below .500 themselves, before the impending deadline.
"Marcell Ozuna is going to get traded," Riley said. "I have the Rangers, the Royals, and the Brewers, all teams that could use some pop, but give me the Texas Rangers."
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"The Texas Rangers are 25th in slugging in Major League Baseball. Enough said."
Ozuna sports a 115 OPS+, so he's still a productive bat, but his slugging percentage (.396) has dropped 150 points since last season. The three-time All-Star is making $16 million in the final year of his current contract.
Will the Rangers be aggressive enough in their quest for offense to shoulder the rest of that contract and give the Braves a prospect? In the next few weeks, we'll know the answer.
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Category: Baseball
