There’s plenty of baseball left to be played, but the Atlanta Braves are certainly in an interesting predicament.
As they have every year since the late 2010s, the Braves entered this season with playoff expectations. But they got off to an 0-7 start, and they’ve never quite recovered, sitting at 25-28 entering play on Thursday.
If the trade deadline were today, the Braves wouldn’t sell. But the National League is extremely competitive, and they’re already 5 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot, so depending on how much worse things get, it’s not out of the question.
In fact, one Braves writer thinks Atlanta could move on from a pitcher that ranked among the very best at his position just a season ago.
On Tuesday, Eric Cole of FanSided named Braves closer Raisel Iglesias, whose ERA has ballooned to a startling 5.75 mark this season, on a list of three players Atlanta could trade before the Jul. 31 deadline this season.
“From the moment the Braves traded for him through the end of last season, Iglesias (was) one of the best and most reliable closers in baseball. Unfortunately, the last year of his contract has not gone well and it may be time for the Braves to cut their losses,” Cole wrote.
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“Perhaps a change of scenery is what everyone needs in this situation and there are going to be teams at the trade deadline that will think they can fix Iglesias and would happily take his expensive, but expiring contract onto their books.”
That four-year, $58 million contract that Iglesias signed with the Los Angeles Angels pays him $16 million this year, which is no small chunk of change. Still, any big-market contender would gladly absorb the remaining money if he was pitching at his usual standard.
If Iglesias can stop giving up loud contact (seven home runs, .919 OPS allowed through 20 2/3 innings), perhaps he can get back to the pitcher he was in 2024. But the Braves would rather that resurgence coincide with a playoff push than a trade deadline fire sale.
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