With Major League Baseball’s trade deadline just eight days away, it’s time for trade talks to start heating up, especially for those contending teams like the San Diego Padres. San Diego is expected to be a buyer and is anticipated to make a big splash in the market. One of the Padres’ needs is DH help, and reports indicate that trade talks with the Atlanta Braves are intensifying.
The Atlanta Braves are expected to sell whatever tradable assets they have. There have been rumors of them shopping their bullpen pieces away for prospects, but with a new report, it feels almost certain they will move a big-time slugger.
San Diego May Be Landing Marcell Ozuna
There was a report that came out this week that indicated the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves were in deep talks about three-time All-Star DH Marcell Ozuna, who is thought to be one of those pieces being moved by the Braves.
MLB insider Héctor Gómez believes that the trade talks between the two teams have “intensified” and a deal may be imminent. He notes that the Padres are very interested in Ozuna, and a source tells him that there are also two prospects involved that would be sent to San Diego.
Ozuna hit 40 home runs in 2023 and was one shy of that mark last season. However, he hasn’t quite lived up to that power mark this year, which may be why the Braves have struggled so much. Ozuna has just 13 home runs this season. His average is just .235, down nearly 70 points from last season. No doubt Ozuna had two fabulous seasons with the Braves in 2023 and 2024, so a slight regression feels normal.
If the Padres do land Ozuna, he could turn his season around because he’s now playing for a playoff contender. In the report by Gómez, he named Padres’ prospects Francis Peña and Ryan Bergert as the two players the Braves would land in the deal. Ozuna is also on an expiring contract and set to be a free agent at year’s end, so this feels like a fair asking price.
Padres Deadline Outlook
You can never count out AJ Preller when it comes to the trade market. The San Diego Padres’ president of baseball operations has made some of the biggest splashes at this point of the year, and many expect him to do just the same this year. Especially with the Los Angeles Dodgers slipping as of late, the Padres are just three games back in the National League West with a lot of baseball left to be played.
Aside from power bats, it’s also been reported that the Padres are shopping for a depth starter and another lefty-bat. There are certainly plenty of starter options on the market this season; it’s just a matter of whether San Diego wants to enter a bidding war for them.
But again, with just eight days left until the deadline, trade proposals should start ramping up, and expect the Padres to be at the forefront of some of those conversations.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Padres Reportedly on Verge of Trading for Braves’ 3x All-Star appeared first on Heavy Sports.