Ranking the Atlanta Braves' top trade assets this winter

The Atlanta Braves have a roster built to contend, but the results have not matched the expectation.

Since winning the World Series in 2021, the Braves have kept their core group intact.

They have filled in around the margins each offseason, hoping to find the right combination to get back to the top.

It has not worked.

Over the last five seasons, Atlanta has won exactly one playoff series.

That came this year, when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game Wild Card Series.

The Braves won 94 games during the regular season.

But after watching the Milwaukee Brewers dismantle the Los Angeles Dodgers — the team that knocked Atlanta out — it became clear this was not a club close to its ultimate goal.

That raises a difficult question.

How much longer can the Braves keep doing the same thing and hope for better results?

Eventually, the organization must take a swing if it wants to win another championship with this core.

That core will soon be broken up one way or another.

Ozzie Albies has just one season remaining on his contract.

Ronald Acuña Jr. will be a free agent in two years.

Matt Olson is not getting any younger.

This very well could be the final season of Chris Sale’s career.

If there were ever a time to make a blockbuster trade, it is this offseason.

So what do the Braves have to offer?

Here is a ranking of Atlanta’s top trade assets entering the winter.

RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER OWEN RITCHIE

Ritchie threw over 73 innings for the major-league club this year.

He was inconsistent, recording a 4.91 ERA.

But he is still just 23 years old.

He would be regarded as a top-100 prospect if he had not burned his prospect eligibility this season.

For a real blockbuster, the Braves would have to include more than Ritchie alone.

But he is definitely someone teams around the league would still value in trade conversations.

LEFT-HANDED PITCHER JESUS CAMINITI

Caminiti is the top-ranked pitching prospect in the Braves system.

He has legitimate frontline potential at the major-league level.

That potential was on display over his final six starts after a promotion to Double-A Columbus.

In those starts, he posted a 2.01 ERA while averaging north of a strikeout per inning.

This is the point on the list where the Braves could start bringing in game-changing talent in a blockbuster.

OUTFIELDER DREW HARTMAN

Hartman is the top prospect in the Braves organization according to most prospect outlets.

He is a true five-tool athlete with power, speed, and an incredible arm.

All of those tools were on display during his memorable run in Rome this season.

He hit 24 home runs and stole 38 bases in fewer than 100 games.

He is a player the Braves would have a real tough time parting with.

But there is a scenario where the organization might want to sell high.

Hartman was not a highly regarded player coming into the system.

His stock has never been higher.

BACKGROUND ON THE BRAVES’ SITUATION

The Braves have been one of the most consistent regular-season teams in baseball.

Since 2018, they have won the National League East six times.

But postseason success has been elusive.

Their 2021 World Series title was the franchise’s first since 1995.

Since then, they have been eliminated in the Division Series three times and the Wild Card Series once.

The 2024 season ended with a first-round exit.

The 2025 season ended the same way.

This year, they won the Wild Card Series but lost in the Division Series to the Dodgers.

The front office, led by president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, has historically preferred to extend core players rather than trade them.

That strategy kept Acuña, Olson, Albies, Austin Riley, and Spencer Strider in Atlanta on long-term deals.

But the clock is ticking on that group.

Albies will be a free agent after 2027.

Acuña will be a free agent after 2028.

Sale, who won the National League Cy Young Award in 2024, is 37 years old and nearing retirement.

Strider missed most of 2025 and 2026 recovering from elbow surgery.

The Braves have not made a blockbuster trade since acquiring Olson from the Oakland Athletics in 2022.

That deal cost them four prospects, including catcher Shea Langeliers.

A similar move this winter would require the Braves to part with at least one of their top prospects.

Ritchie, Caminiti, and Hartman are the most likely candidates to headline any major trade package.