Braves trade candidates didn’t do themselves any favors over the weekend

If you believe the narrative MLB insiders are pumping, the Braves are not going to trade any of their core pieces at this year’s trade deadline.

That leaves them with only a few players they can sell over the next 10 days. Marcell Ozuna, Raisel Iglesias, Pierce Johnson, and Aaron Bummer are the most notable, and none of them did the Braves any favors over the weekend with their performances.

Ozuna has essentially been relegated to the bench as the Braves turn to Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy to occupy the designated hitter role, something that probably should have happened several weeks ago. However, The Big Bear did get five at-bats against the Yankees, going 0-for-5 with one strikeout.

Ozuna is now hitting .165 with just three homers since June 2nd (37 games) — good for a .527 OPS. Perhaps somebody is willing to bet on his track record and potential upside, but there’s also a distinct possibility that nobody is interested in a designated hitter with a tear in his hip and a .527 OPS over the last month-and-a-half.

Coming into the weekend, Raisel Iglesias was probably the Braves most attractive trade chip. The once dominant closer had rebounded nicely from a miserable start to the season, appearing in 15 straight games without allowing a run. However, that streak came to a screeching halt on Saturday night, when Iglesias gave up a two-out grand slam to Trent Grisham in the top of the ninth.

Unlike Ozuna, there will still be teams calling on Iglesias. The Braves should have no problem moving him, but the price tag might have lowered just a tad after Saturday.

Pierce Johnson falls into the same category. He’s still a very attractive trade piece, especially given he has a team option for next season at a very palatable rate of $7 million. However, giving up a critical home run on Saturday isn’t the best way to beef up your trade value.

And then there is Aaron Bummer, who might not have any trade value left after his performance this month. The southpaw has watched his ERA balloon from 2.86 to 4.50 in his last four appearances, as he’s surrendered nine earned runs over just 5.1 innings.

The Braves were probably never going to get a great prospect for Bummer’s services. However, because of the way his salary inflates from this season to next — $3.5 million in 2025 to $9.5 million in 2026 — getting him off the books at this year’s trade deadline is a priority. That might no longer be possible after the events of the last couple of weeks.