The Braves have been among the most disappointing teams in MLB. They’re nine games under .500 entering this weekend’s series against the Rockies. They’d lost seven straight before taking two of three in Milwaukee.
On paper, that all points toward Atlanta as likely deadline sellers. Yet the Braves entered this season with a top 10 payroll in MLB and have made the playoffs in seven straight years. They’re not going to wave the white flag unless they feel it’s unavoidable. Jon Heyman of The New York Post wrote last night that the Braves are still positioned as buyers, reporting that the front office is looking for help in the outfield and at shortstop.
If the Braves were to buy, those would each be natural targets. Left field has been an issue since Jurickson Profar was suspended following a positive performance-enhancing drug test. Alex Verdugo is hitting .247/.301/.312 across 166 plate appearances — arguably even worse than last year’s .233/.291/.356 showing as a member of the Yankees. Eli White hasn’t been much better, running a .235/.275/.383 season line. White had carved out semi-regular playing time with a productive April, but he’s hitting .202/.231/.288 in 109 plate appearances dating back to the beginning of May.
While left field is the clearest weakness in the outfield, the Braves have gotten similarly poor production in center. Michael Harris II has had a dismal first half. He carries a .233/.261/.346 line through 275 trips to the plate. Harris is a productive baserunner and an elite defender, so he’s still providing some value, but the Braves need much more from him offensively. He entered this season with a .285/.325/.469 slash over his first three years. The track record and the defense should keep Harris on solid ground as an everyday player, but his down year has essentially placed the entire burden on Ronald Acuña Jr. to get any kind of offensive contributions from the outfield.
Profar has fewer than 20 games remaining on his suspension. He’ll return early next month, though that’ll be clouded with uncertainty about what they can expect from him. Even if he plays well, he wouldn’t be an option if the Braves make an improbable playoff push. Players cannot participate in the postseason during the year in which they were suspended for PED use.
Shortstop has been almost as much of a struggle. Opening Day starter Orlando Arcia is gone, having been released last month (and subsequently signing with Colorado). Nick Allen has taken the everyday role there. He’s an elite defensive infielder who provides very little at the plate. The 5’8″ infielder has yet to hit a home run and owns a .234/.309/.269 mark through 191 trips.
Allen’s all-glove profile would be easier to tolerate if they were getting more from their non-Acuña outfielders. Having multiple positions that don’t contribute offensively is a tougher sell. Atlanta’s .243/.317/.386 team batting line is middling, and they’ve been terrible this month (.216/.296/.360). They’d love to deepen the offense, but they’ve also seen their bullpen melt down far too often and have spotty rotation depth after losing AJ Smith-Shawver to Tommy John surgery. There are a lot of areas to address.
Of course, how aggressively they’ll do so depends in large part on the next six weeks. The front office’s impulse may be to add, but that’d be difficult to pursue if the team is still well below .500 and nine games out of a playoff spot in late July. At that point, they’d have little choice but to entertain offers on impending free agent DH Marcell Ozuna (with a case for listening on ace Chris Sale).
If you want a shortstop, the Reds have about 1900 in their system.
And a outfielder ,Boston is your team though they only have 1600 to choose from..
Is this same “This one belongs to the Reds” who complains about the Dodgers having ’99 pitchers’ in their system? No way!
Same with CLE, but none of them can hit. AA’s intention to find a better option than Arcia comes about 2 winters too late.
IKF or Ha-Seong Kim if he comes back healthy soon.
Lol. This team should not be buyers. They are terrible.
Beyond the fact that they have holes in the OF and SS, this team lacks chemistry and cohesiveness. I think it would be foolish to buy. This just isn’t their year, so any deadline move should be made with 2026 in mind.
Right on point. The Braves lost more than some very solid offense and elite defense when they let Freeman and Swanson slip away.. The two provided leadership.
Solid offense yes, but Matt Olson and Nick Allen are better defenders at their positions that Freeman and Swanson.
Freeman and Swanson a combined three Gold Gloves to two for Allen/Olson and the offensive numbers aren’t even close.
You don’t need chemistry in baseball. They just need to fill in some of these dead ends in the lineup and figure out who the closer in going to be,
You’re right. They need production, not chemistry.
And no leader.
Poverty Lou!
How about a productive shortstop? Enough of the journeymen players at the position. Easy NOs to IKF and Kim!
Bo Bichette?
Toronto is the top Wild Card team in the AL right now and the Braves do not have anything close to the prospect haul it would take to get him because of that
In free agency yes I do think they will sign him.
Braves are too cheap for that.
SELL.
SFG needs Ozuna.
1-800-Call Buster today !
Ozuna has been very vocal in the past about not wanting to play on the West Coast
Doesn’t matter what he wants if he gets traded.
Ozuna is a 10-5 guy so he doesn’t have to go anywhere he doesn’t want to
I stand corrected thank you for clarifying. Good for him!
They play 10 of the next 13 games after the Rockies against the Mets and Phillies. They will have a better idea in what direction to go after that.
Mets Era Thumping Soto:
With the way the Braves are playing now, I’m not exactly going out on a limb by saying I think this is where they get buried by the Mets and Phillies.
If they don’t make up lot of ground before the ASB, they’ll sell. Except for the sort of waiver wire moves they’ve made recently, expect nothing major until the All Star festivities are over.
I’ve been saying for awhile that a Luisangel Acuna for Aaron Bummer deal would make sense for the Braves and Mets, but obviously a trade between bitter divisional rivals has some built-in obstacles. But it would definitely help both sides.
No it wouldn’t. The Mets aren’t trading a good young player in year one of control for a reliever.
Simply having Acuna as his last name does not make him a “good young player”. He has a .576 ops, basically the same offensive player as the Braves current shortstop but not as good defensively. Wouldn’t move the needle one bit for the Braves unless playing with his brother ignited something for him.
I guess you think that his OPS is permanent and will never change. Acuna is a better shortstop than what you have. You obviously haven’t seen him play defense or his ability to run.
Agreed, the Mets would need to get something better than Bummer for him.
Camikey:
David Stearns seems to have a knack of finding useful relievers during the season. I don’t see any way they would be making that trade.
As has been pointed out by NashvilleJeff, Lil’ Acuna can’t hit. Has zero pop. He’s a menace on the bases but I don’t know if he is a legit regular. Bummer is the best arm in the pen. They can’t afford to trade him if they aren’t giving up on this season.
aLifetimeOfDefeats:
I can’t say that I know what Acuna will develop into, but it would be foolish to assume what he is now is the finished product.
Bummer is nothing special.
Orlando Arcia should be available
As down as I have been on the team it is really not as inconceivable that they could make a run as people are saying. They pull out historical parallels without mentioning that the playoff structure is unprecedented today. There are so many ways to get in. So it really doesn’t matter if it’s been done before. Granted it’s a deep league. If you had huge pieces on expiring contracts I could see the urgency to sell. But even your best piece probably in Ozuna is not hitting great and playing with a small tear in his hip. They could get creative. They could trade someone like Murphy. It doesn’t have to just be a rental guy they go after.
The probability is only low because of what we have seen this season which cannot be discounted whatsoever. That said it’s essentially the same team that, when healthy, has had a run like that practically every season. Even this year in between two putrid stretches they had the best record in baseball. They need a relief pitcher tho. That or someone needs to step up big time. To me the team has been through a lot and they may not have enough fight in them but if ever they were gonna it would probably be after going through something like they have. They usually seem to treat the regular season like its a bit hard to get going for in the first half. Oddly, just speculation, but I feel like they almost get themselves in a rut (not intentionally of course) so they will have to push out of it. Otherwise they are just waiting with eyes on the playoffs in hopes of redemption. This time tho they may have waited too long to get going. We’ll see
If a player violates league drug policy within first year of contract, the team should be allowed to void the contract
No, they shouldn’t.
Headline says Evaluating SS & Outfield but what about an evaluation on the front office?
Something tells me Alex is going to go out and say even though the Braves are under 500 they still have a chance. Joc, Duvall, Rosario and Soler would be huge…haha
Story?
Sure, if they are willing to send Sale back in the deal. Story is still owed a lot of money and then you have the problem of what are the Braves sending back in return. While the Sox may need to move Story at some point this may not be the time
I had a similar thought, something like Duran and Story for Sale and Murphy? It’s partly a 2025 deal but also addresses both teams’ needs in 2026.
Hahaha, I’m sure you had that similar thought. No way the Braves even entertain that silly offer.
@rsoxbob: The Braves need a SS, not a washed up salary dump. Story doesn’t address any teams “need” at SS.
How about Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia, Tyler Mahle and Kumar Rocker for Ronald Acuna, Pablo Ozuna and Hurston Waldrep?
No thanks, hard pass.
-Signed every Atlanta fan except the one fan you can have, if you’ll take him.
Story, Abreu and Houck for Spencer Schwellenbach
No. Schwelly isn’t going anywhere.
The Red Sox would love that.
Another delusional Red Sox fan who thinks a MLB team believes that Story is anything other than a washed up salary dump. Your junk for something excellent trade proposal.
Trevor’s $23.3M AAV is about $1M+ over AA’s Max $22M AAV Threshold, so a hard NO! End of Story!
Profar solves outfield. Worry about playoffs if get there.
No real fix at short. Call up nacho and let it ride
Need bullpen help. Should be priority.
Nacho just returned to AAA Gwinnett’s lineup yesterday. He’d previously gotten 5 PA in two games for the Braves FCL team. Since he’s been out since March, the Braves likely don’t want to call him up for at least another few weeks, if not longer.
Profar is ineligible for the playoffs…
He said, “Worry about playoffs if get there.”
When Alvarez got sent down to Gwinnett last season after his ugly initial MLB call up, he was played exclusively at 3B. Doubt the Braves even view him as an option at SS any longer. They’re beyond desperate if they do.
Braves still have a decent core: Olson, Albies, Harris, Acuna, Riley, Strider, Schwellenbach, Murphy, and some young/promising players like Baldwin, Nacho Alvarez, and Waldrep. But they should really consider just using the remaining season to retool. Trade rentals that have value and others that aren’t under control past 2026 and stock up some decent farmhands that might be able to help by 2027 or earlier.
Time to move on from this season. We need to move ozuna, try and package Murphy, release verdugo and white and Fairchild all below average players. I think we get a good return for bummer at the deadline and Iglesias if he can turn it around. Next yr well have payroll to add Jimenez back in pen and we can look for a competitive 2026. And snit will hang it up, either Weiss or maybe shoemocker
They’re not getting much for Bummer.
Why wouldn’t they? Bummer is a pretty good lefty reliever who can pitch the 7th-8th innings, and is under control for 2026. Teams always overpay for relievers at the deadline. I could totally see them getting a decent prospect out of Bummer.
As a Braves fan, I 100% agree. First and foremost, they need to fire their current hitting coach and go back to the offensive philosophy that made them one of the best lineups in MLB history just 2 years ago. But that’s not going to save this season. Those bad habits take too long to undo. They should trade Ozuna, Iglesias, Bummer, Murphy AND Sale. I doubt they trade Sale because they have a club option and AA will want to compete again as soon as next year, but if you make Sale available with Ozuna, you have the best bat AND the best pitcher on the market. Combine that with Murphy and they could get a pretty decent haul
I believe the offensive philosophy from 2 years ago was Ron Washington deciphering the Catcher’s signs and relaying them to the batters!
Stealing signs is perfectly legal, unless you are using electronic means (Astros) to do so!
Did I clap my hands once, twice, 3 times or more? The offense almost completely disappeared when he went to the Angels!
Do you have any evidence of this? Because there’s plenty of data that suggests the lineup’s philosophy has changed far more than just a coach stealing signs. They’re taking more pitches, instead of ambushing like they did 2 years ago. The angle of their swings, on average, is flatter. The rate of their “fast swings” has dropped dramatically from 2 years ago. Whoever made the decision has tried to turn a lineup full of free swinging power hitters into Luis Arraez. Whether or not Washington was stealing signs, the Braves offensive woes go so much deeper than that. My guess, without having any insider information, is that the coaching staff and front office decided that after a couple 1st round exits, that relying on bombs won’t work in the playoffs (despite that being precisely how they won a ring in 2021) and over corrected into trying to preach OBP over power, despite that not being the strength of most of the Braves lineup.
@AL: The offensive philosophy two years ago was “crush the extremely live baseball that MLB is using this season.” Plenty of evidence to prove that the baseball has been deadened since then. Braves aren’t the only team whose power numbers have gone downward. They’re still hitting the ball hard. Baseball’s just aren’t leaving parks at the same level they did in 2023. The swing changes and more patient approach that some of the Braves have adopted under Hyer—as Fowler notes—–haven’t helped either. One would think that Harris II in particular would benefit from swinging at better pitches, but he’s been totally unable to execute that strategy this season.
Yeah, the problem is: Harris and Ozzie and even Riley are not going to be high walk guys. So what’s happening is they’re taking the best pitch they’re gonna get all AB, getting behind in the count, then swinging at junk. I much preferred the approach of using analytics to know what each pitcher throws in each situation? And when you guess right, hitting it to the moon, and living with some of the ugly ABs that came when they guessed wrong. Having a hitting coach come in and try to turn guys into something they’re not just doesn’t make a lot of sense.
If they’re still this far back in August, then sell but the Tigers were way back last year and got hot in the second half and made the playoffs. Not sure what shortstops would be available but anyone has to be an upgrade.
Maybe not just “anyone” Lifetime, lol. Red Sox fans keep trying to dump Story on the Braves w/outlandish trade proposals for Sale and Schwellenbach. My stomach still hurts from laughing at some of them.
There’s nobody quite as delusional as a Yankees/Sox fan in a trade proposal.
This team has NO heart and AA only got lucky with that WS, AA signed long term a lot of players instead of just watching them grow like Strider. Strider now has 95 mph fastball and needs now to learn how to pitch, good luck! We all knew a clunker with Smith-shawer but he refused to trade the kid, Morton should’ve not pitch for the braves last year yet, he had him. The Kelenic experiment blew in his face while the owners paid 30 million for it, the Murphy-Contreras trade was another clunker, the only thing he did right was trading for Sale and signed albies with such a low ball contract.
Fire Snitker and hitting coach, trade for a 5th starter option and move Elder to the pen. No good SS options til offseason, and OF they can wait til deadline.