Yes, Dan Uggla is still on the Atlanta Braves roster. Some fans might be questioning that since the second baseman has barely seen the field after Tommy La Stella was called up back in May. Uggla's future with the Atlanta Braves has been rocky for the better part of two years, but his contract makes him impossible to trade. After a recent suspension, will the Braves simply cut ties with Uggla and release him?
The braves acquired Uggla in 2010, signing him to a five-year, $62 million contract. That does not expire until next season when he is set to earn $13 million. That is not a friendly contract to take on and the Braves are learning that the hard way. To make matters worse, Uggla is being less than productive, batting .162 with two home runs in 48 games. That forced the Braves to call up La Stella from Triple-A Gwinnett and he has been playing in place of Uggla even since.
Now the Braves have announced the second baseman will serve a one-game suspension for undisclosed reason. Manager Fredi Gonzalez would not go into detail regarding the reason for a suspension and when pressed further on the issue, he simply said that he expected Uggla to return as a productive player for the second half of the season.
However, Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the Braves may opt to simply release Uggla is shopping him at the deadline fails. Of course they would eat a lot of money with that move, but at least it would open up a roster spot for someone else. Fansided.com reports that the Yankees might be interested in trade after needing help at second base. Uggla can crush a baseball and the Yankees might buy into the whole resurgence theory of a new atmosphere bringing back the Uggla slugger. For a team struggling to score runs, Uggla could help, if he can still play.
Uggla will only be traded to the most desperate team. That could be the Yankees who are in need of bringing on as many stars to the roster as they can in order to remain in contention. He will give power to any roster. However, the end result could easily be the Braves eating the contract of Uggla, releasing him and then hoping La Stella and prospect Phil Gosselin work out.
