This is going to be an intriguing offseason for the Braves. Atlanta still features an exciting young core that may still be the best in baseball when everybody is healthy. However, three straight early exits in the postseason might be enough for Alex Anthopoulos to finally consider a shake-up of sorts.
What we do know is Anthopoulos is going to be trying to improve the roster, and he’s never been one to shy away from a blockbuster trade. There will almost assuredly be some wheeling and dealing this offseason, and a couple of names to keep an eye on that could be on their way out are Marcell Ozuna and Jorge Soler.
I don’t know there’s a scenario that exists where both can be on the Braves roster next season. Alex Anthopoulos has already said the Braves plan to pick up Marcell Ozuna’s $16 million option for 2025, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he will be playing in Atlanta. He could still be traded if the right deal comes across the table.
However, it surely doesn’t seem like that would be in the Braves’ best interest. Not only has Marcel Ozuna been one of the league’s best offensive players over the last two seasons, totaling 79 homers and over 200 RBIs, but he’s also beloved by his teammates, something Alex Anthopoulos places a high emphasis on when building a team.
That could force the Braves to think long and hard about Jorge Soler’s future with the club. He has two years, $32 million remaining on his deal, which isn’t a terrible figure. But the Braves traded for him ahead of the trade deadline and gambled by playing him in right field. While he helped provide some pop to a lineup that desperately needed it, his defense couldn’t have been worse.
In just 49 games with the Braves, Soler managed to accumulate -7 outs above average. That’s nearly impossible to do in such a short sample size. He’s not a right fielder, he’s not a left fielder, he’s not an outfielder. Soler is a designated hitter, and that role is occupied by Marcell Ozuna. There’s no reason to keep them both on the roster, especially if the Braves can save $16 million by moving one.
That doesn’t even include the Ronald Acuña Jr. dilemma in all of this. The 2023 NL MVP is coming off his second ACL injury in his last four seasons. There’s no telling what he will and will not be able to do when he returns initially, but there’s a chance he’s going to need to DH more often than in the past, if not full-time. I would say there’s a greater chance that both Ozuna and Soler are traded this offseason than there is of them both remaining with the club through the winter.
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Photo: Kevin Langley/Icon Sportswire
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