No young star's shine has dulled as quickly as Michael Harris II's in 2025. Harris has never been one to start a season fast in his young big league career, but this season the prolonged slump is reaching new levels of frustration. It feels that many fans are running out of patience with the Braves centerfielder and if Harris can't fix his swing soon, Alex Anthopoulos may be forced ship him out.
While trading Harris isn't likely, he has some alarming weaknesses that may not be fixable. This is probably more of an offseason discussion, but let's talk through the prospect of Atlanta actually doing the unthinkable, and trading their 24 year-old center fielder.
After showing some improvement, getting the ball in the air more and homering 3 times in 6 games, #Braves' Michael Harris II is slumping again, going 3-for-30 w/ 1 extra-base hit in past 8 games to sink his average to .223 and OPS to .585, 7th-lowest OPS among all MLB qualifiers.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) June 22, 2025
Braves trading Michael Harris II isn't as far-fetched as it sounds
Most Braves fans online have toyed with the idea of sending Michael Harris II down to Triple-A so that he can get a mental reset of sorts. However, running Eli White out in center field everyday probably isn't going to help the Braves win too many more games than they are with Harris in the lineup.
Of course, trading him would mean selling low on Harris which doesn't sound like an Alex Anthopoulos method of roster construction. However, nothing about MH2's approach at the plate gives you confidence he can turn things around. He's never walked much in his career, and his abysmal chase rate makes being a productive offensive player a very tough feat. If you lack confidence in brighter days ahead, it may be best to cut bait before things get worse.
Sure he plays an excellent center field, but the Braves' problem for two seasons now, other than injuries, has been scoring runs consistently. On top of that, the Braves already have some glaring holes at the bottom of the order, so Harris' struggles get all the more amplified when Atlanta is committed to him long-term at $49 million guaranteed over the next five seasons. Trading Harris would clear the Braves of his contract being a possible burden in future off-season's.
So how else does Alex Anthopoulos solve Atlanta's centerfield problem? Given his upside, plenty of out of contention teams would line up to take on Harris' contract. Of course those teams likely can't provide talent that can help Atlanta in the immediate future.
The more savvy move could be to flip Harris for an offensive upgrade at shortstop, or even some pitching help for 2025 and beyond. Cutting that deal then addressing centerfield in the offseason could be on the table for Anthopoulos. But is that worth doing for an outside chance of even making the postseason in 2025?
No matter how you slice it any sort of trade of Harris II is a signal of lost faith in a bounce back from the Georgia native. Given his second half performance track record, Anthopoulos' refusal to trade players he's extended, and current low trade value it's probably best to just ride this one out for the remainder of 2025.