The Atlanta Braves are nine games under .500 and nine games back of the final Wild Card spot in the National League. They could be out of contention by the time the trade deadline rolls around.
Usually, that would mean a team starts to cut ties with expensive contracts and pending free agents. However, The Athletic's Jim Bowden revealed that the Braves are not going to be traditional sellers at the deadline, despite their record.
"After subpar starts, the Braves, (Boston) Red Sox and (Texas) Rangers don’t appear to be postseason teams this year, but most in the industry believe they will make trades to try to improve their respective rosters for the rest of this season and next rather than being typical sellers," wrote Bowden. "The Braves will focus on acquiring more pitching (starting and relieving)."
It seems like the Braves are not going to accept that the season is lost, at least not completely. While they may still trade players like Marcell Ozuna, who will be a free agent after the season, they may not be looking for just prospects. The Braves, instead, will target big league arms to help them potentially turn things around for an improbable late-season push.
It is not unheard of. Last season, the Detroit Tigers traded away Jack Flaherty and ended up having a phenomenal run after the trade deadline and reached the American League Division Series. The year the Braves won the World Series, they were under .500 through 67 games as well.
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It would make sense for the Braves to potentially trade Chris Sale, Ozuna and even Sean Murphy. However, making calculated additions could keep them in the Wild Card race this year and set them up to hit the ground running next year. However, the next few weeks could be huge for the Braves. If things start to click, they could turn themselves into legitimate postseason contenders.
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