More Smoke Around Braves' Marcell Ozuna With MLB Trade Deadline Coming

Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos declared in the middle of June that he will not sell at the MLB trade deadline. But what happens on the field, not words, are the only thing that can stop trade rumors.

With the Braves hitting poorly and dealing with injuries in the starting rotation, the possibility of Atlanta trading designated hitter Marcell Ozuna resurfaced Wednesday. This time, ESPN's David Schoenfield pushed the idea.

"The Braves beat the Mets in five out of seven games in June to spark some comeback talk, but they remain eight games under .500, one of five NL teams that are more than five games out of the final wild card," Schoenfield wrote. "There's still time, and FanGraphs gives them 23% playoff odds, but the offense actually had its worst month of the season in June.

"It's hard to wave the white flag with Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider leading the rotation and Ronald Acuna Jr. red-hot since his return, but the Braves will need a huge July in order to be contenders.

"If they don't get that, Ozuna is the logical trade candidate, as he heads into free agency and has a .369 OBP (although he had a miserable June with a .550 OPS and just two home runs)."

Schoenfield has been pushing Ozuna as a trade candidate for the Braves since April. So, one could argue Schoenfield's rumors were part of what Anthopoulos was trying to throw cold water on when he definitively stated on June 18 he will not sell at the deadline.

Some pundits have argued trading Ozuna wouldn't be a seller's move because he's on an expiring contract. But that's a silly semantics argument. The Braves offense will be even worse without Ozuna, so giving him up for something to help the club down the road should be viewed as a seller's move.

But that doesn't mean I'm advocating Anthopoulos fulfilling his June statement of not selling. Why should the Braves let Ozuna leave for nothing this offseason to keep him on a sinking ship?

If the Braves can't get really hot with a great July, then looking ahead to 2026 is the most logical next step. That's especially true given the fact that left-hander Chris Sale, who Schoenfield argued Tuesday is one of the reasons to keep a glimmer of hope, won't return until the second half of August because of his rib injury.