What is going on with the Atlanta Braves? For a team that was one of the best in Major League Baseball just a few years ago, the Braves looked to be a team that had an opportunity to win multiple World Series over the next decade.
With young talent, a superstar in Ronald Acuna Jr., an ace in Spencer Strider, and much more, Atlanta looked poised for success.
Instead, the team has dealt with multiple injuries, and now can’t figure it out on the offensive side of the baseball.
The Braves’ offense has been brutal, and while the team has won four straight, there are many question marks about them in the loaded National League East, already sitting 6.5 games back behind the New York Mets for first place.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Braves approach the next few months, but in a recent prediction from David Schoenfeld of ESPN, he predicted that the team could cut ties with slugger Marcell Ozuna.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
“It would be shocking not to see the Braves recover from this slow start, but if they don’t, Ozuna would be a fascinating player to consider. He’s in the final year of a five-year deal and the Braves already have a lot of future commitments on the books, so there’s no guarantee he’ll re-sign with Atlanta, especially since his production warrants a bigger salary than the $16 million he’s making this year.
“Ozuna was one of the best hitters in baseball last year and is off to an even better start in 2025, so while he’s limited to DH, he would fill a middle-of-the-order need for a DH-starved club (and given the lack of offense across the majors, this is a long list),” he wrote.
Ozuna, one of the top power hitters in baseball, has played at an elite level during the past few seasons. He’s coming off two of his best seasons, hitting 40 home runs in 2023 and 39 in 2024. With four home runs and a 183 OPS+, if he became available, the Braves would likely get a huge return for his services.
