These next few weeks will be a massive turning point for the Atlanta Braves.
After a horribly disappointing start, Atlanta sits at 29-38 on the season. They’re nine games out of the playoff race at the moment, and if they’re still that far back by the trade deadline, they’ll have to seriously think about trading away some stars.
The biggest name that will be circulated in trade discussions if the Braves look like sellers is designated hitter Marcell Ozuna. The 34-year-old slugger, who is making $16 million this season, will hit free agency in the winter.
While the Braves would rather keep Ozuna and make a playoff push, they’ll have a long list of suitors if they don’t though whichever teams inquire will have to have openings for a full-time DH.
On Wednesday, Zachary Rotman of FanSided identified the Detroit Tigers as one of those prospective suitors.
“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.
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“On most nights, three of (Detroit’s) first four and four of their first six hitters are left-handed. That makes them awfully easy to match up against late in games… The right-handed Ozuna can hit in the middle of this order and break up the lefties, making the Tigers harder to pitch to.
At 45-25, the Tigers have the American League’s best record. Adding Ozuna to the middle of the order would make them a highly formidable foe heading into the postseason, and possibly the odds-on pennant favorites.
Ozuna is also dealing with a hip injury and has slumped of late, which is something to monitor for every reason imaginable.
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