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The Atlanta Braves may be on the way to salvaging their season, but there's still work to do.
Thanks to their three-game sweep of the New York Mets, the Braves are within five games of .500 for the first time since Jun. 3. But even .500 baseball isn't close to playoff status in this year's National League.
Though president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos did his best to dispel the notion earlier this week, there's still at least an outside chance the Braves could wind up waving the white flag at the trade deadline.
If they choose that path, designated hitter Marcell Ozuna will almost definitely be shipped out. The three-time All-Star, who is coming to the end of a five-year, $81 million tenure in Atlanta, would be a major middle-of-the-order addition for several contending teams.
On Thursday, TJ French of Heavy proposed a hypothetical deal that would send Ozuna to the Detroit Tigers, the team with the best record in baseball at the moment, for a three-prospect package.
"The Detroit Tigers would send the Atlanta Braves’ fifth-ranked prospect Thayron Liranzo, pitcher prospect Troy Melton, and outfielder Parker Meadows," French wrote. "A three-player deal that equals Ozuna’s worth. Ozuna has hit 40 and 39 home runs in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, so the power is there in complete capacity.
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"Ozuna would complete that Detroit lineup that features a plethora of strong lefty hitters like Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, and Colt Keith."
If the Braves felt compelled to sell, French's return package would be a nice boost to their future.
Liranzo is a switch-hitting catcher whose future may take him to a new position, but he has big-time power. Meadows looked great in the second half of 2024 in Detroit, and Melton might be in the big leagues by the end of the year.
Still, the Braves would likely have to go on another long losing streak to facilitate this type of sell-off.
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