Braves’ 3-Time All-Star Emerging As Key Trade Deadline Target
Officially six weeks out from the 2025 MLB trade deadline, teams like the Atlanta Braves are starting to mull over their options.
At 34-40, six games back in the NL Wild Card race, the Braves aren’t out of it. But they’re not exactly in it either. They’re stuck, trying to figure out their identity with a roster full of talent and a front office that has built its reputation on knowing exactly when to push.
This time, though, there’s no obvious answer. And that makes Atlanta’s situation all the more intriguing.
Marcell Ozuna Trade Rumors
The Braves’ season hasn’t been short on turbulence. They’ve already weathered two separate seven-game losing streaks.
And yet, Ronald Acuna Jr. is back to looking like one of the best players on the planet. Spencer Strider is nearing a return. And general manager Alex Anthopoulos has gone on record saying they intend to buy. Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com noted Saturday that the team’s “controllable assets” like Cy Young winner Chris Sale won’t be traded.
“No, zero [chance],” Anthopoulos said, per Harrigan. “I’ve seen the speculation. It’s completely ridiculous to me. We are not selling, especially someone that has club control beyond the current year. Will not happen. I never make definitive statements unless I’m going to stick to them. Once you make definitive statements and then you go back on them, you’re a liar and you’re done.
“Will. Not. Happen. Bold, italicize it, caps. So much so that I’m trying to make a trade now — it’s very hard right now to make a trade in June — just to signal to everybody that we will not sell.”
Still, the door can never be completely shut, especially this close to July. And in a deadline landscape this congested, that matters.
