San Diego Padres Pegged as Potential Landing Spot For Atlanta Braves Slugger

The Atlanta Braves snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Kansas City Royals on Monday, but that result alone likely won't impact the front office's plans at the trade deadline.

Atlanta is currently sitting in fourth place in the NL East at 45-60, which puts the club 12.0 games out of an NL Wild Card spot. With FanGraphs giving the Braves a mere 0.4% chance of making the playoffs – down from 93.4% in the preseason – they could very easily become sellers prior to 6 p.m. ET on Thursday.

ESPN's Buster Olney wrote Tuesday that it would be "interesting to see" if the San Diego Padres emerge as a possible landing spot for Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna. As part of his reasoning, Olney noted that San Diego's designated hitters rank 28th in MLB with an 82 wRC+ so far in 2025.

Ozuna, a 34-year-old pending free agent, is having a down year but is still batting .233 with 14 home runs, 11 doubles, 38 runs, 44 RBIs, a .754 OPS and a 1.1 WAR through 96 games. He carries a 115 wRC+, which ranks fifth on the Braves.

Olney also posited that the Padres, who don't exactly have a deep farm system, wouldn't have to pay too steep of a price for the aging Ozuna.

It'll be interesting to see if the Padres emerge as a possible landing spot for Marcell Ozuna. San Diego has some of baseball's worst DH production this year -- wRC+ of 82, which ranks 28th -- and presumably, the prospect-strapped Padres wouldn't have to give up much to get him.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 29, 2025

Ozuna was named an All-Star in the final two of his five seasons with the Miami Marlins, before posting a couple solid campaigns with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018 and 2019. He thrived upon his arrival in Atlanta in 2020, winning a Silver Slugger and finishing sixth in NL MVP voting, before inking an $80 million deal and watching his production fall off a cliff in 2021 and 2022.

Over the next two seasons, though, Ozuna hit .289 with a .916 OPS, racking up 79 home runs, 60 doubles, 180 runs, 204 RBIs and a 7.8 WAR. While he hasn't reached that level of production in 2025, that dominance at the plate isn't very far in Ozuna's rear-view mirror.

Gavin Sheets is the closest thing to a full-time designated hitter the Padres have had this season, but he has barely gotten any run against left-handers. Ozuna has a career .831 OPS against southpaws, compared to Sheets' .534 mark.

If the Braves and Padres were to strike a deal, it would have to come together in roughly 48 hours. It remains to be seen if the two sides have had discussions about Ozuna, but Olney did report that at least one team has had internal coversations about trying to swing a deal for the veteran.

Ozuna has a 10-5 no-trade clause, however, so he would have the power to block a trade to San Diego or anywhere else.

With little more than 48 hours to go before the deadline, there is movement developing around Marcell Ozuna, who has the power to reject any trade proposal. At least one team has had internal conversations about trying to work out a deal for the slugger.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 29, 2025

The Padres are currently in line for the third and final NL Wild Card spot, but fending off the Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals could be easier said than done.

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