The Atlanta Braves' season started miserably, but things have been much better as of late. Some areas still have question marks, like the rotation and bullpen. It's too early for the team to make a big splash trade to address these areas, but eventually, they will need to consider it if the team keeps playing well.
MLB's 2025 trade deadline is July 31st, and it will be wildly unpredictable. However, ESPN's David Schoenfield decided to tackle this with early trade deadline predictions for all 30 teams. His choice for the Braves is a bit surprising, but it also comes with a large caveat as things need to go completely sideways for that to happen. Schoenfield chose designated hitter Marcell Ozuna as Atlanta's early trade candidate.
It's a strange thought to have as Ozuna has been one of the biggest contributors in 2025. Ozuna not ending the season with the Braves sounds like a horrible decision. Things have improved over the last couple of weeks for Atlanta, but if, for some reason, they were to tank again, Ozuna being traded could become a reality.
MLB expert believes the Braves could consider moving Marcell Ozuna at the trade deadline
There's a lot of appeal to Ozuna as he's having an incredible season. He's slashing .313/.473/.530 with 26 hits, including three doubles, five home runs, 12 RBI, and a 181 wRC+ (which is sixth best among all MLB hitters).
Marcell Ozuna's 1st-inning blast goes 443 feet 😳 pic.twitter.com/Lyl3QgzHki
— MLB (@MLB) April 27, 2025
Most impressively is the insanely high walk rate Ozuna carries this season. He has 26 walks to 23 strikeouts. His 23.6% walk rate is the best in baseball and the highest of his career. There's a chance this dips at some point, but his plate discipline has been out of this world and is a big reason why he has the second-best on-base percentage in the majors behind Aaron Judge.
Ozuna is also punishing the fastball with a .400 batting average over 68 plate appearances. It's easy to see why he would be a trade target for any team at the deadline. However, the Braves are trending in the right direction, so it's highly unlikely that would happen.
Schoenfield does point out it would be shocking not to see the Braves recover, and he's right. A team that talented just continuing to suck was always very unlikely. His logic behind choosing Ozuna is that he's in the final year of his five-year, $65 million contract, and the Braves have "a lot of future commitments on the books."
It's hard to imagine Ozuna wouldn't re-sign with the Braves, but it's certainly a possibility he won't. Atlanta could use him to get a much-needed upgrade in the bullpen or rotation to put them over the top. I hardly imagine Alex Anthopoulos would be keen on trading away such an important offensive piece unless absolutely necessary.