The 2025 trade deadline has been full of movement and surprises thus far. It hasn't been an eventful trade season for the Atlanta Braves as they've made some minor moves for pitching depth.
There've not been any blockbuster trades yet, and the lineup announcement for Atlanta's first game with the Reds may have answered everyone's question. Marcell Ozuna has an expiring contract, and the thought was he would get traded at the deadline.
Unfortunately, the Braves may have already ended that speculation. Ozuna is batting fourth in Atlanta's lineup on Thursday evening. A last-minute trade could still happen before the deadline and make this a moot point.
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Braves putting Marcell Ozuna in the lineup with trade deadline approaching hints at major trade deadline miscalculation
It would be strange for the Braves not to move Ozuna, even if he is a great presence in the clubhouse. He still has value, but Braves insider Mark Bowman pointed out earlier that his past legal issues and ability to nullify any trade could be holding things up.
Not only that, but he also has dealt with a hip injury all year, and medicals could cause problems as well. Atlanta may be on the hook for the remainder of his salary as well in any deal. It's also possible that no one wants to add him due to his underperformance this season.
He's shown some signs of life with some big home runs over the last few days. But it seems like the Braves may not do anything else this deadline. It feels like an awful mistake for Atlanta to not try and move some of their relievers like Pierce Johnson and Raisel Iglesias.
Relievers have been netting teams very high returns so far like with the Mason Miller trade to the Padres. Bullpen help is something every contender needs, and the Braves would be foolish to miss out on that. There's about an hour left to go, so we will see what happens.