Braves Predicted to Cut Ties With Marcell Ozuna in 1-for-1 Swap With Mariners

At this point, the Atlanta Braves are just hoping to get something back for Marcell Ozuna.

This has been a disastrous season for the Braves, and Ozuna is just another example of unforeseen disappointment. After hitting 79 home runs with an OPS over .900 for the previous two campaigns, he’s barely above a league-average hitter and has only 14 long balls.

But one of those homers came on Monday night against the Kansas City Royals, so the Braves are likely hitting the phones harder than ever on Tuesday hoping to drum up interest in the 34-year-old designated hitter.

Will Ozuna have a new home by Thursday evening’s trade deadline? Jay Staph and Ryan Finkelstein of Just Baseball believe so.

On Monday, Staph and Finkelstein predicted that the Braves would ship Ozuna to the Seattle Mariners for pitching prospect Michael Morales, who Just Baseball rates as the 11th-best prospect in the Seattle system.

“Assuming another team lands (Eugenio) Suárez, the Mariners will be left looking through a barren market to find bats. Which could make Marcell Ozuna an attractive flier to plug into their DH spot,” wrote Staph and Finkelstein.

“If the Braves can get him to rediscover his command, then they can have a starting pitcher who provides some depth to the upper levels of their farm system,” they added on the projected return for Atlanta. “At 22 years old, Morales is a good project for the Braves to take on in a trade like this.”

To some degree, Ozuna’s market is tied to Suárez. Though the latter can play third base, both are primarily generating interest, however much might be out there, for their ability to add some thump to a contending team’s lineup.

And any return for Ozuna, who is set to become a free agent, is a good return for the Braves at this point, so the deadline playing out in this scenario would be ideal.

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