It was a tough start to the season in Atlanta, as they lost their first seven games in a row and 13 of their first 18 games. Brutal as that start to the season was, the club managed to turn things around in the latter weeks of April, and as recently as May 19 things were looking good. The Braves were 24-23, leaving them on the periphery of the Wild Card conversation, was finally back from the injured list, and was just days away from his own return. Unfortunately, theyve gone just 3-11 since then. That leaves them in fourth place in the NL East with a 27-34 record and 6.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot, with six teams theyd need to bypa s in the standings in order to make it to the postseason. Impre sive and well-constructed as the team may look on paper, the group simply hasnt been getting the job done in practice. Strider has pitched Ryne Stanek Jersey poorly (6.43 ERA, 6.93 FIP) in three starts since returning. is done for the season after suffering a torn UCL. and arent hitting. No qualified reliever in baseball has allowed more home runs than closer . Its impo sible to know what they can expect to get out of when he returns from his PED suspension, and even if he plays well he wont be eligible for the postseason. Taken together, its hard not to see Atlanta as a team that has simply fallen too far behind the pack to justify continuing to push their chips in for the postseason. The good news is that, if they do decide to sell, theyll have plenty of interesting pieces to move. Iglesias has had a rough year, but still boasts 232 saves and an ERA below 3.00 for his career. has been one of the leagues top designated hitters for three straight seasons now, with a 148 wRC+ stretching back to 2023 thats top-ten in baseball among hitters with at least 1,000 plate appearances in that time. Perhaps can be of interest to a team in need of outfield help, even in the midst of a down season (79 wRC+). Ozuna would immediately become the best hitter available this summer if dangled, and even in spite of his home run woes teams will be hard pre sed to find a more decorated reliever than Iglesias to close out games for them. If the Braves were to decide to sell, would they stop at rental pieces or consider dealing longer-term a sets as well? They hold a team option on the services of veteran ace , but the reigning NL Cy Young winner would immediately become the most valuable a set on the market if president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos decided to dangle him. A $7MM team option for 2026 would make right-hander an attractive multi-year a set on the market as well. And with making his case to be NL Rookie of the Year, its not impo sible to imagine Atlanta listening to offers on and shedding the $45MM in guaranteed dollars remaining on his deal for his age 31-33 seasons. In a summer that looks like there may not be much impact talent available, theres plenty of upside to be found in selling aggre sively while the majority of the league is scrambling to improve ahead of the stretch run. As much sense as it might seem to make for the Braves to listen on some of their top short-term pieces, it must be remembered that Anthopoulos and his front office arent afraid to zig when the rest of the league zags. Just a few years ago, Atlanta entered the All-Star break with a sub-.500 club that had just lost Acuna to a season-ending injury. It wouldve been understandable if they decided to sell, with , , , and among the short-term a sets they had in the fold at that point who could have brought back ma sive returns. Rather than entertain that option, the club added , , , and to their beleaguered outfield and stayed the course. A few months later, they hoisted the Commi sioners Trophy after beating the Astros in the World Series. It shouldnt shock anyone if club bra s decides to stay the course once again this year in hopes of a similar Cinderella run. After all, the talent on Atlantas roster is enviable; all the same reasons that pieces like Iglesias and Ozuna would be attractive to rival organizations are reasons the Braves may simply prefer to try to win while theyre still in the fold rather than bank on figuring things out without them in the future, and that goes double for longer-term pieces like Sale and Murphy. Perhaps Strider will improve as he shakes off the rust from his long rehab, and Acuna has wasted no time thrusting himself back into the conversation as one of the leagues premier stars. With the 2023 NL MVPs time under team control set to last only three more seasons after this one, its far to wonder if the Braves would really sacrifice one of those seasons by selling at the deadline. How do MLBTR readers think Atlanta will approach the deadline this summer? Will they push their chips in and buy despite long odds, like they did in 2021? Will they do some light selling, casting off rental players in hopes of restocking in 2026? Or will they listen to offers on a wider range of players? Have your say in the poll below: What Will The Braves Do This Summer? Atlanta will sell at the deadline, but only listen on rental players. 36.42% (1,078votes) Atlanta will sell at the deadline, and at least listen on some players controlled beyond 2025. 33.14% (981votes) Atlanta will not sell at the deadline. 30.44% (901votes) Total Votes: 2,960 Shintaro Fujinami Jersey