The Atlanta Braves are open to offers for at least some of their key players.
Atlanta is willing to deal slugger Marcell Ozuna and closer Raisel Iglesias, both of whom are pending free agents, ahead of next week’s deadline, a source told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. However, in order to part with either Ozuna or Iglesias, the Braves want a proper return in terms of talent and aren’t willing to send them out in a salary dump, Rosenthal adds.
An Ozuna trade may be out of the Braves’ hands regardless, however, as he holds 10-and-5 rights – 10 years of MLB service time, the last five with the same team – and can therefore veto any move.
Though the Braves have fallen well short of expectations this season, general manager Alex Anthopoulos has publicly refused to concede defeat. He called rumors of a potential Chris Sale trade “completely ridiculous” in June, shortly before the ace landed on the injured list with a fractured ribcage.
The team’s struggles have mounted since then. Atlanta has lost four of six since the break and now sits 14 games out of first place in the NL East.
Ozuna started this season strong but has slumped since mid-April and is now hitting .235/.360/.389 with 13 homers and 42 RBIs. He’s been the Braves’ primary designated hitter for most of this year but has only started one game since the All-Star break.
Still, Ozuna is just two years removed from a stellar 40-homer campaign. The 34-year-old also finished fourth in NL MVP voting last season and could be a game-changing bat for a contender should he rediscover that form down the stretch.
Iglesias, meanwhile, is mired in a bit of a down year. The 35-year-old Cuban has tallied just 11 saves while putting up a career-worst 4.99 ERA over 42 appearances. However, he still owns a 10.4 K/9 rate with nine walks in 39 2/3 innings, and he’s allowed only four earned runs since June 9.
Both Ozuna and Iglesias are earning $16 million this season, meaning they’ll make around $5 million over the final two months of 2025.
