Why should they care? AA gave them security, so they don't care. Hungry teams win. Secure teams get fat and lazy
So FF, Ohtani etc. were playing for a new contract when they demolished the Yankees in the WS? If what you say were true, someone would have figured that out by now and contracts for star players would be getting shorter, not longer.
This team has clearly checked out. And if we‘re honest, the organization was never serious about winning this season. And the players feel it. They may be able to motivate themselves playing against the Mets, but all it takes is a rain delay to quench their fighting spirits.
They‘re not going to blow it up at the deadline, because that would hurt the brand, but they‘re also not going to do anything to jeopardize 2026.
Priority #1 needs to be to get everyone to the offseason in good health
Priority #2 should be to fix Harris. The hitting talent is there, but he finally needs to learn how to approach an AB, and how to differentiate good from bad pitches. There‘s no point in sending him down and let him feast on AAA pitchers just on pure talent. He needs to figure this out against ML competition.
Priority #3 should be to see who you can move at the deadline to save some $$. Obviously, none of the guys the Braves are willing to trade would bring back talent that moves the needle.
Oh, and it goes without saying that AA needs to put his full attention to the 2026 roster and coaching staff right now.