It has been heavily speculated that the Atlanta Braves would be open to trading either Marcell Ozuna or Raisel Iglesias before the July 31 deadline. The veterans are the only noteworthy names who aren't under contract for the 2026 season, and the Braves front office is viewing this year as more of a reset and less of a rebuild.
The current standings demand that you explore trading away expiring pieces; however, the problem is that none of Atlanta's tradeable assets are horribly enticing.
This includes Ozuna, who has played through a hip injury in an effort to help the Braves turn the season around. For a while, this worked in the slugger's favor, with the numbers still putting him among the more productive options.
Over the last two months, this has changed with the offense cratering and forcing the Braves to demote Ozuna to a bench role. As long as Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin are both on the roster, it doesn't make sense to force the struggling hitter into the lineup. This has only stirred up more trade speculation that Ozuna himself has now fed into with eye-catching comments.
Braves' Marcell Ozuna Sounds Open to Being Traded
On Sunday, Ozuna was asked about the possibility of being traded before the end of the month, according to The Athletic's David O'Brien. While some players would do their best to shut out that noise, the Atlanta vet's response sounded like he's open to being moved.
"Yeah, whatever (the Braves) decide, I have to get it," Ozuna said. "I work for them; they have the decision, and whatever (decision) they make, I have to do it."
Ozuna said he’d leave any decision to his agent, not mentioning any possibility of stepping in to veto a trade. He also sounded as if there’ve been trade discussions.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) July 21, 2025
“That’s my agent and Alex (Anthopoulos), that’s what they’re working on. I don’t know.” https://t.co/1kwnO7tZjT
Reading Ozuna's quote talking about the idea of a trade, it becomes clear that this is where things are heading if there is any interest. It wasn't a denial or a wish to stay with the team, but a sentiment of not wanting to answer the question, throwing it on Atlanta's president and Ozuna's agent. This isn't the answer the veteran is giving if he isn't ready to part ways with the Braves.
It makes sense for both sides to turn the page based on the results and pending free agency.
Keeping Ozuna on the roster doesn't make sense if you're not going to put him in the designated hitter role. The defensive erosion over the last half-decade leaves zero value in having the Atlanta star on the bench. All of this adds up to a quickly approaching trade if the Braves can find a contender who believes Ozuna is capable of returning to his early-season production while dealing with the hip injury.
In the 92 games (323 at-bats) he's appeared in this season, Ozuna is slashing .235/.361/.390 with 13 home runs, 42 RBIs, 64 walks, and a career-high 16.2% base-on-balls rate.
Ozuna's time in Atlanta was a mixed bag, but he will be remembered for the impressive 2023 and 2024 runs that helped carry the Atlanta offense. Even with it being clear it is beyond time to make the move, it is still going ot be bittersweet when Ozuna inevitably exits Atlanta.