The next few weeks could reshape everything for the Atlanta Braves.
After a brutal start to the season, Atlanta sits at 29-38 and finds itself nine games out of the playoff race. If they’re still that far back come the trade deadline, the front office will have some tough decisions to make about moving veteran pieces.
The name that’s going to generate the most buzz in trade talks? Marcell Ozuna.
The 34-year-old designated hitter is making $16 million this season and heads to free agency this winter. While Atlanta would obviously prefer to keep Ozuna and make a playoff push, they’ll have plenty of interested teams calling if things don’t turn around.
The catch is that any acquiring team needs a full-time DH spot available.
On Wednesday, Zachary Rotman of FanSided identified the Detroit Tigers as a potential landing spot that makes a lot of sense.
“The Detroit Tigers are one of MLB’s best teams, so they should be going all-in at this year’s trade deadline. An Ozuna trade would be doing just that, and would help their lineup exponentially,” Rotman wrote.
The reasoning is pretty compelling. Detroit’s lineup has a left-handed problem that Ozuna could solve.
“On most nights, three of their first four and four of their first six hitters are left-handed,” Rotman noted. “That makes them awfully easy to match up against late in games.”
That’s where Ozuna comes in. The right-handed slugger could slot into the middle of Detroit’s order and break up all those lefties, making the Tigers much harder to pitch to in key situations.
And let’s be honest – at 45-25, Detroit has the American League’s best record. Adding Ozuna’s bat to that lineup could make them the odds-on pennant favorites heading into October.
There is one wrinkle to monitor though. Ozuna’s been dealing with a hip injury and has slumped recently, which could affect both his trade value and any team’s willingness to make a move.
For now, it’s all hypothetical. But if Atlanta can’t find a way to climb back into contention over the next month, Ozuna trade talks are going to heat up quickly.
