The Atlanta Braves have been getting terrible production from Dan Uggla for years and the team may now finally be fed up with it, as reports say the Braves could give young prospects Ramiro Pena and Tyler Pastornicky more time at the position and that means a trade is possible and some options proposed by Ken Rosenthal at Fox include a deal with the Reds for Brandon Phillips, as well as trades with the NY Yankees, White Sox, Washington Nationals or LA Dodgers.
The Braves traded for Uggla from the Marlins a few years ago and while he had been a solid power hitter coming in and not one to bat for a high average, he wasn't as terrible as he has been. Over the past two years it's like Uggla has forgotten how to hit at all and now the frustration is mounting for the Braves. According to MLB.com, the team is planning on using the young prospects at second base and with Uggla coming off of a season where he hit just .179, the Braves may look to try and trade him to get something out of the former star.
Uggla could be tough to move though, as he is set to make $24 million through next season and while he hit two home runs and a grand slam against the Phillies earlier in the year, other than that he has done nothing. Uggla was hitting .237 through his first 16 games of the regular season and now he is at .184 and his only two home runs came in the same game and clearly he has been slumping with the way that average has gone down and in the last seven days he is hitting .071 and the Braves may have no choice but to sit him down.
Moving Uggla will be tough because of the money, but Phillips could be one option since he is making a ton of money as well. Phillips is better than Uggla, but he has been disgruntled with the Reds and this could be a way for both teams to clear things out and Uggla sure could use a change of scenery with the way things have been going and he only has five extra base hits. The White Sox could be an option as well and they have Gordon Beckham's $2.95 million salary and that could make things a little better if the Braves take on some of Uggla's money. Either way, Uggla is not long for Atlanta the way he is playing now.
