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The Atlanta Braves are bound to be one of the more aggressive sellers in baseball before the trade deadline. Rather than contending for the World Series, the Braves have found themselves below the Miami Marlins in the standings, sitting at 43-54.
But Atlanta is bound to have quite a lot of valuable assets to throw on the trade block. The Braves could approach the deadline cautiously, or they could opt to blow up the roster and enter a bit of a rebuild.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale recently reported that he expects the Braves to listen to trade offers for star second baseman Ozzie Albies in the coming weeks. Albies has two additional years of club options left on his contract.
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“Atlanta is expected to listen to trade offers for second baseman Ozzie Albies, center fielder Michael Harris, and catcher Sean Murphy, but not until this winter,” Nightengale wrote. “They are letting teams know that DH Marcell Ozuna, closer Raisel Iglesias, and reliever Pierce Johnson are all available. Ozuna, who has 10-and-5 rights, can veto any trade.”
Trading Albies could make a lot of sense with Nacho Alvarez emerging as a potential option in the infield. Atlanta could also target another infielder in the trade that ships Albies away.
Teams like the New York Yankees would make perfect sense as a landing spot for the star from Atlanta. The Bronx Bombers need an infielder as desperately as any team in baseball and likely wouldn’t hesitate to go after Albies if he were made available.
Either way, the Braves would be smart to test the market. The worst-case scenario is that nobody is willing to give up a lot for him, and the Braves opt to keep him in Atlanta for a few more years. No harm, no foul.
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