The Braves have continued to underperform as the season nears its three-month mark. They clawed back from their 0-7 start to get above .500 in mid-May — right as they were about to activate Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider from the injured list. Optimism was high. Then came a stretch of 14 losses in 17 contests that dropped them to a season-high 10 games below .500 over the weekend. They’re coming off a solid series win in Milwaukee, but they face long odds to climb back into a tough NL playoff race. The division is all but gone, and they’re nine games back with six teams to jump in the Wild Card picture.
Atlanta’s front office isn’t going to sell six weeks in advance of the trade deadline. They’ve invested a lot and this core’s prior successes have earned them as much runway as possible to get hot. Jon Heyman of The New York Post wrote last night that the Braves still view themselves as buyers, highlighting shortstop and the outfield as potential targets.
Still, they’re running low on time and coming off their worst stretch of the season. The back half of the lineup, late-inning relief mix, and starting pitching depth are all issues. They’ll need a significant turnaround in the next 4-6 weeks to avoid selling some short-term pieces. Marcell Ozuna would be an obvious candidate as a rental bat who is raking for a third consecutive season. They could try to offload impending free agent reliever Raisel Iglesias, who has put himself on shaky ground by struggling with the longball. The tougher question is whether the front office should move any key players who are controllable beyond this year — with Chris Sale leading the way as the team’s top option.
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