Braves Suggested Trade Proposal Would Involve Ex-Cardinals Slugger

Could the former Cardinals slugger be available this winter?

Mar 31, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Braves batting helmet inside the dugout before game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Could one former St. Louis Cardinals slugger be on the trade market this winter?

Nothing can be ruled out at this point.

The Major League Baseball postseason is still in full swing right now. The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are squaring off in the National League Championship Series. The New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians are facing off in the American League Championship Series.

One of these four teams will end up winning the World Series this fall, and then decisions will start to be made with the 2025 season in mind. Once the playoffs end, free agency and trade rumors will start to explode. There will be plenty of star power on the move in both cases.

Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer put together a list of "unpopular" trade proposals for each club and urged the Atlanta Braves to consider a deal involving former Cardinals slugger Marcell Ozuna.

"To be clear, Atlanta is already expected to exercise Ozuna's $16 million option for 2025," Rymer said. "It's an easy call, as he's emerged from lost years in 2021 and 2022 to slam 79 homers over the last two seasons. And yet, it will deliberately create a logjam at designated hitter as soon as it picks up Ozuna's option.

"It's the only truly viable position for both him and Jorge Soler, who will also pull in $16 million next season. If one of them has to go, it should be Ozuna. And not just because he has more value than Soler right now. At 33, he is also a year older than Soler, and there's a greater risk of what value he has going kaput in the near future."

Ozuna shined in 2024 as a member of the Braves. He appeared in 162 games and slashed .302/.378/.546 with 39 home runs and 104 RBIs. Any team would be lucky to have offensive production like that so maybe the Braves could get a big haul if he's available.

He spent the 2018 and 2019 campaigns with the Cardinals and impressed over the two seasons. Ozuna has been with the Braves ever since, but maybe his days with the team could be numbered if Rymer's proposal comes to life.

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