A recent report has indicated that the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves have ramped up trade talks for DH Marcell Ozuna. The report also detailed an initial trade package.

With the trade deadline looming in a little over a week, San Diego’s first major trade action of 2025 may be nearing. In a search for a right-handed bat, the Padres could very well be hours from securing just that.

MLB Insider Héctor Gómez of Z101 Digital revealed that trade talks between the Padres and Braves “have intensified.” The player in question is the Braves’ 34-year-old DH Marcell Ozuna, who has drawn the interest of the Padres organization.  Gómez added that the Padres’ No. 18 and 21 prospects, Francis Peña and Ryan Bergert, are the return package on the table.

SOURCE: Trade talks between #Padres and #Braves have intensified. The #Padres are very interested in landing Marcell Ozuna. According to the source, the #Braves would receive Padres’ No. 18 prospect RHP Francis Peña and No. 21 prospect RHP Ryan Bergert.@z101digital

— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) July 23, 2025

Acquiring the Braves slugger would solidify Gavin Sheets as the everyday left fielder. Meanwhile, Ozuna would take over as the primary DH. A new-look lineup would potentially look like this:

1. Fernando Tatis Jr. RF

2. Luis Arraez 1B

3. Manny Machado 3B

4. Gavin Sheets LF

5. Marcell Ozuna DH

6. Jackson Merrill CF

7. Xander Bogaerts SS

8. Jake Cronenworth 2B

9. Elias Diaz C

In terms of price and control, it’s more than likely that Ozuna would be a one-year rental. He’s on the final year of a four-year, $65M contract, and it’s unlikely that San Diego would extend him.

What type of player would San Diego be getting? And who would they be letting go?

Ozuna is a three-time All-Star and finished fourth in NL MVP voting in 2024. His power ability has always been his calling card, but he’s quietly a .270 career hitter. However, he’s currently nursing a hip injury that has cut into his production as of late. Regardless, Ozuna is a pure hitter and has a chance to reach 300 career home runs before he turns 35 years old.

Meanwhile, the Padres would be giving up two pitching prospects that are currently reporting to Triple-A. Ryan Bergert— who’s appeared in ten big league games for San Diego this year— would be the older of the two. A year younger would be relief prospect Francis Peña, who is also included in the proposal.

Bergert checks in as a good fit for the Braves’ four-seam-heavy philosophy. Meanwhile, Peña would be an option to insert into the bullpen right away, as the unit has been mediocre.

In conclusion, acquiring Ozuna would be a high-risk, high-reward move. Although the price isn’t extremely high, San Diego could certainly benefit from Ryan Bergert’s services. The Padres’ starting pitching health has been elusive in 2025. On the other side, Ozuna could provide a serious spark for the offense. However, his health concerns could very well snowball into additional dips in production, or worse, missed time.

Willy Warren

A 17-year-old San Diego native, Willy Warren is a baseball fan at heart who created High Leverage Baseball, a public baseball media account covering around-the-league statistical analysis and breakdowns on X. Willy is set to attend the Cronkite School of Journalism in the fall of 2026 at Arizona State University, where he’ll pursue a major in sports journalism.