Ex-Cardinals Slugger Tabbed 'Best Trade Chip' For Braves

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to be one of the more intriguing teams to follow at the trade deadline this season. They have a lot of interesting pieces they could move, but their winning ways could stop them from doing so.

There are also a few former Cardinals players who could find themselves on the trade block around the league.

MLB.com's Mark Bowman recently suggested the Atlanta Braves could cut ties with their designated hitter, Marcell Ozuna, in a massive in-season trade this summer. Ozuna was a member of the Cardinals in 2018 and 2019, but now he may come back to haunt them in a potential postseason race.

"If the Braves continue to slide and end up sellers, teams will be interested in renting Ozuna’s power bat for a couple months," Bowman wrote. "The veteran slugger seems to be swinging with less restriction after battling hip discomfort during the early part of this season. The Braves should also make second baseman Ozzie Albies and closer Raisel Iglesias available. But Ozuna would garner the best return."

If the Braves are out of the postseason race by the time the trade deadline rolls around, which is looking like the case, then trading Ozuna makes sense. He's slashing .261/.401/.431 in another great season for Atlanta, but the slugger's on an expiring contract. Given his age and slot as a designated hitter, it's unlikely the Braves will want to give him a huge contract in free agency.

We could see Ozuna on the move in the coming weeks and there's a chance he's traded to a team that's actively fighting with the Cardinals for a National League postseason berth. That could come back to haunt St. Louis in a huge way.