Braves' Austin Riley Named 'High-Priced' Candidate for Wild Trade Scenario

The Atlanta Braves aren't selling. That's what Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos stated rather clearly while making an appearance on 680 The Fan on June 18.

But as I've written before and will again, that hasn't and won't stop the rumor mill from suggesting the Braves could move on from a franchise cornerstone.

On a list seemingly designed to float highly unlikely hypotheticals, Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer proposed third baseman Austin Riley is a trade candidate.

Rymer's list was called "dream landing spots for MLB's high-priced, change of scenery stars." The dream landing spot for Riley, according to Rymer, is the Chicago Cubs.

"Four years removed from a World Series win and two years removed from a truly epic 104-win season, the Braves find themselves in a spot where things just aren't working anymore," wrote Rymer.

"They barely made the playoffs in 2024 and are now seven games under .500 here in 2025. They're also in a tight spot with their payroll, as all those extensions have created a high floor of guaranteed dollars on a year-to-year basis.

"They ought to be thinking about who can go to create space, and Austin Riley is the best answer on two counts: The 28-year-old is making a lot of money, and he's fallen into a weird sort of rut offensively."

Riley is hitting .275 with a .764 OPS in 342 plate appearances this season. While his batting average is about 20 points higher than last season, his OPS is roughly 100 points lower than two years ago.

Over the past two seasons, Riley owns a .775 OPS. Riley had an OPS between .861 and 898 from 2021-23.

Rymer appeared to believe Riley would have the opportunity to recapture his level of play during that three-year period with the Cubs.

Given the premise of the article, it's not a ridiculous suggestion that the Braves would trade Riley. He is expensive and underperforming.

But it's hard to foresee the Braves giving up on the third baseman. Trading Riley now might also not yield the greatest return since Riley isn't hitting as well as he has in the past.

Furthermore, Riley already has 10 fielding errors this season. The third baseman had 11 fielding errors the entire 2023 season.

If the Braves see Riley bouncing back, then trading him this season would make little sense. They signed him to the 10-year, $212 million deal to keep him long term.

Anthopoulos has given no indication the team's feelings about the contract have changed in anyway. For Braves Country, Riley's "dream" spot is still Atlanta.