MLB Mock Trade: Atlanta Braves Deal Ozzie Albies, Raisel Iglesias To Seattle Mariners

In this MLB mock trade scenario, the Atlanta Braves send Ozzie Albies and Raisel Iglesias to the Seattle Mariners for top prospects, signaling a potential shift toward a rebuild amid a disastrous 2025 season.

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies (1) reacts after hitting a three run home run against the New York Yankees during the third inning at Truist Park. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

After blowing their fourth five-plus run lead on the season to the Yankees this weekend, then going on to lose the series, any hope of a miracle second-half resurgence coming off the all-star break for the Atlanta Braves quickly went up in smoke. Their four five-plus run blow leads are twice as many as anyone else in Major League Baseball and show the ineptitude of their bullpen as well as head coach Brian Snitker's ability to utilize them.

This has been a nightmarish season for the Braves, who have been plagued by injuries, subpar play, and questionable coaching all season. When it comes to health, their entire starting rotation has missed significant time this year. The last man standing is Spencer Strider, who is still working his way back after missing a year and getting a late start to this season due to a second UCL surgery. Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Spencer Schwellenbach, and AJ Smith-Shawver have all landed on the 60-Day IL and are out indefinitely. The offense has also seen Ronald Acuna Jr, Austin Riley, and Sean Murphy forced to miss time on the IL with various injuries. 

Even many of the healthy stars have underperformed this season, particularly at the plate. Stars like multiple-time All-Star Ozzie Albies and former Rookie of the Year Michael Harris have gone through long hitting slumps, while 2024 MVP candidate Marcell Ozuna hasn't looked the same since suffering a hip injury late in the spring. Then you have their free agent acquisition Jurikson Profar missing half the season after testing positive for PEDs in the offseason. What can go wrong has gone wrong in Atlanta this season. 

The #Braves are expected to listen to trade offers on 2B Ozzie Albies, OF Michael Harris and C Sean Murphy this winter, per @BNightengale pic.twitter.com/OGIowzo7hU

— MLB Deadline News (@MLBDeadlineNews) July 20, 2025

However, the ones most to blame for this season are the men not on the field. While general manager Alex Anthopoulos rarely misses and has made magic in the past, this year was not one of his success stories. He took a World Series favorite and left the roster shallow and lacking. He pieced together a terrible bullpen with pitchers like Enyel De Los Santos and Rafael Montero, who can't get anyone out and probably shouldn't be on a professional roster at this point, and left them in the hands of a lame duck coach who no longer understands how to handle his pitching staff. The once great depth that helped the Braves win a World Series just a few short years ago has now been reduced to AAA-caliber players like Stuart Fairchild and Luke Williams.

Just two years removed from being one of the greatest offensive lineups in MLB history, the Braves now have Nick Allen as their starting shortstop. Some might call him pesky or scrappy; I'd prefer to call him a complete liability at the plate and the face of failure from the Atlanta front office. In 89 games, he has had 258 at-bats, which have resulted in a total of zero home runs and 16 RBIs with a batting average of .236. How do you make a player who can't hit for power or average your starting shortstop on a World Series-ready team? The man statistically has struck out 6300% more often than he has hit a home run. While he hasn't been the worst player on the team, he is a constant reminder, night in and night out, of why this season has been so awful. 

While this weekend may have been the straw that broke the camel's back and locked in the Braves as sellers at the July 31 Trade Deadline, there are many moments you can point to that destroyed their season. None more glaring than when outfielder Eli White inexplicably decided to run backwards around the bases from third to second, getting thrown out and costing them a chance at a huge win against the San Diego Padres. A play that was the catalyst for White eventually losing playing time and possibly derailing his career, while also leading to the demotion of third-base coach Matt Tuiasosopo. 

The worst culprit of them all, though, is Snitker. A lame duck coach who has managed to press all the wrong buttons on a near-constant basis this season. He has made poor decisions at an almost impossibly efficient rate. This unmitigated disaster of a season has seen him fall from grace. While firing him weeks ago wouldn't have been soon enough, at least Braves' fans can take solace knowing that the team will allow him to "retire" when this season mercifully comes to an end. 

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker (43) looks on during the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Do I think that the Braves are going to trade a star like Albies before the trade deadline? It may be a long shot. However, everything has to be on the table for this franchise right now, who will undoubtedly be sellers in less than two weeks as they watch their season circle around the drain of the toilet getting flushed down like Snit. 

Atlanta Braves - Seattle Mariners MLB Mock Trade

Mariners Receive

2B Ozzie Albies

RHP Raisel Iglesias 

Braves Receive

Prospect - INF Felnin Celesten

Prospect - RHP Michael Morales

Why The Trade Makes Sense For The Braves

Reports have already surfaced that Atlanta will be willing to listen to offers for Albies in the offseason. If they get an offer they can't refuse at the deadline, they could just pull the trigger now. They could add one of the Mariners' top infield prospects and build their middle infield around Celesten and Nacho Alvarez for the future. Albies has been a great Brave and was a huge piece of their World Series run, but has also dealt with injuries and a decline in efficiency at the plate. It could be the right time to move on. 

Why The Trade Makes Sense For The Mariners

The Mariners desperately need offense from their second baseman. Ozzie gives them a veteran who has been an All-Star and brings championship experience. He's known as a great locker room guy in Atlanta and has shone bright in some of the biggest moments the Braves have had during his tenure there. When playing a full season, Albies has proven to be a 30-home run, 100-RBI guy. Seattle could add a huge upgrade at second and get a guy who is under team control until 2028 with a very reasonable price tag of just $7 million a year.

They would lose one of their top prospects, but they can afford to because they have a logjam of middle infielders in their farm system. They'd also be getting a closer who hasn't been great this season, but had turned things around with 15 consecutive appearances without an earned run before getting taken deep for a Grand Slam against the Yankees on Saturday. He wouldn't be their closer but would upgrade the bullpen and bring high-leverage experience.  

Fantasy Baseball Impact

A change of scenery could help Albies. Things just feel bad around Atlanta right now, with nothing going right. Getting out of that black hole of misery could get him back on the right track. He could land on a team with a coach who actually knows how to adjust lineups and make decisions. If you put him near the top of the lineup, he could get hot and be a top fantasy second baseman. Albies has seen his bat heat up as of late; it could be ready to explode and have a major impact on the AL playoff race.