Ever since the Braves won the World Series in 2021, they’ve stuck with the same basic formula: keep the core together, patch the edges, and trust that the next run will come. It still hasn’t delivered the kind of payoff they want.
Atlanta has only one playoff series win in the last five seasons, and that came this year in a three-game Wild Card Series against the Phillies. The 94-win season looked solid on paper, but after Milwaukee knocked out the Dodgers - the same team that eliminated Atlanta - it was hard to call this a club that had truly reached its ceiling.
That reality makes this offseason feel different. The Braves’ core is starting to shift, whether they want it to or not.
Ozzie Albies has one year left on his deal. Ronald Acuña Jr. is two years from free agency.
Matt Olson is getting older. Chris Sale could be at the end of his career.
If Atlanta is ever going to swing big, this is the time.
So who could actually headline a blockbuster? Here’s how the Braves’ top trade chips stack up.
Ronald Acuña Jr. sits at the top of the list, even if the idea of moving him sounds far-fetched. The Braves, by all accounts, are not seriously looking to deal him, and the best path to another championship still runs through him being in the lineup.
But with two years left on his contract, it’s at least possible they would listen if an overwhelming offer showed up. It would take a massive return to even get Atlanta to pause.
Just behind him is Tate Southisene, the Braves’ 2025 first-round pick and maybe the prospect the organization would be least willing to move. The 19-year-old hit at every stop in his first pro season, climbed all the way to Double-A, and then had his year cut short by a hand injury. He’s back in the Arizona Fall League now and has an OPS approaching 1.000 over 14 games.
Eric Hartman comes in next. Most prospect outlets rank him as the top prospect in the system, and the appeal is obvious: power, speed, and a big arm, all wrapped into a true five-tool profile.
He put up 24 homers and 38 steals in fewer than 100 games at Rome, then cooled off after reaching Double-A, where he posted a .577 OPS over his final 34 games. That kind of split makes him interesting in a trade conversation, especially if Atlanta thinks his value is high.
Cam Caminiti is another name with real weight. He’s the top pitching prospect in the organization and showed why over his final six starts after moving up to Double-A Columbus.
In that stretch, he posted a 2.01 ERA and averaged more than a strikeout per inning. This is where the Braves could start getting into the range of impact, difference-making return.
Then there’s JR Ritchie, who logged more than 73 innings for the big-league club and finished with a 4.91 ERA. The results were uneven, but he’s still only 23 and would likely be viewed as a top-100 prospect if he hadn’t used up his eligibility this season. He wouldn’t headline a monster deal on his own, but he’s the kind of arm other teams would absolutely ask about.
In Other News...
Braves Earnings Report Reveals One Key Test For New Broadcast Plan
Atlanta Braves Holdings latest earnings report offered a first look at how the clubs new broadcast setup is settling in after a quarter that ended Sept. 30. Baseball-related revenues rose 4% to $295.5 million from a year ago, helped by a home schedule that included 42 games and drew an average of 26,998 fans per date, a reminder that the on-field product and the ballpark experience still drive the business in a big way.
The more interesting test, though, is still ahead. Media revenues dipped 4% in the quarter as the teams new BravesVision subsidiary handled broadcasts and streaming duties, and the company is now trying to prove that the switch can perform on the same level as the old arrangement over the full year. For a franchise that has spent years building around both its baseball brand and its media reach, the next stretch will say plenty about whether this new model can hold up financially. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Still Face One Big Ozzie Albies Question
The Braves have already taken care of one part of Ozzie Albies future by exercising his team option for 2027, giving the second baseman a measure of security in a season where the roster around him could still be in flux. For Atlanta, that matters because Albies has been a central piece of the clubs core for years, and any discussion about his place in the lineup carries extra weight when the front office is thinking about how to keep the window open.
Even with the option picked up, Albies situation is not exactly settled in the long view. His offensive struggles have prompted speculation that the Braves could look at moving him as part of a broader effort to reshape the core, and his future could still end up being decided by a trade or by free agency next offseason. For now, the contract is in place, but the bigger question around his role in Atlanta remains very much alive. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Harris II Just Gave Braves Fans A New Reason To Be Furious
Michael Harris II had a strong enough offensive season to deserve a place in the National League Silver Slugger conversation, which is why the omission landed so hard with Braves fans. The Atlanta outfielder put together a year that included 26 home runs and a .294 batting average, marks that made him one of the most productive qualified outfielders in the league and a natural name to expect among the finalists.
Instead, the field is headed by Corbin Carroll, Jackson Chourio, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jordan Walker and James Wood, leaving Harris on the outside looking in. The award is voted on by MLB managers and coaches, though they are not allowed to vote for their own players, and the snub only adds another layer to what already feels like a questionable result for a Braves lineup that leaned on Harris all season. [Read more 🡒]