House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves: Marcell Ozuna doesn’t need to be Donaldson, he just needs to be himself

By Josh Mathews

ST LOUIS, MO - SEPTEMBER 16: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals drives in two runs with a ground-rule double against the Washington Nationals in the seventh inning at Busch Stadium on September 16, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - SEPTEMBER 16: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals drives in two runs with a ground-rule double against the Washington Nationals in the seventh inning at Busch Stadium on September 16, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – OCTOBER 06: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after being called out on strikes against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning in game three of the National League Division Series at Busch Stadium on October 06, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – OCTOBER 06: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after being called out on strikes against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning in game three of the National League Division Series at Busch Stadium on October 06, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Ozuna: 2020 Atlanta Braves

What can we expect from the ‘Big Bear’ in 2020?  Fans reminiscent of our last Bear, ‘El Oso Blanco’ would be satisfied with an Evan Gattis like performance at the plate.  With Ozuna, at least, we don’t have a catcher like Gattis or Austin Riley trying to play the outfield.

We talked about Ozuna’s average season in the first slide, and that would come in around .270 with 26 or 27 home runs and 85-90 RBI. With his numbers last season, he was worth 2.2 WAR, and the going rate for one WAR is about nine million dollars. So, that would be johnny on the spot, given his new contract. Of course, Atlanta Braves fans want more than that, and should.

Consider that Ozuna is in a contract year and he’s just 29 years old. If he comes in and duplicates his 2017 numbers, he is going to get a long-term deal and he’s going to get paid, much like Josh Donaldson did.

Thus there will be no shortage of motivation with Ozuna this season.

Additionally, the St. Louis Cardinals left the postseason in arguably equally disappointing fashion as the Atlanta Braves did. The pain didn’t last one game for Cardinals fans- they were horrible for four games and got swept by a team that many Atlanta Braves fans believed that we could have handled (and did in the regular season.)

Contract years do funny things to players. In one example, Adrian Beltre increased his production to insane levels during the 2004 season and ended up inking a five year, 64 million dollar contract with the Seattle Mariners.

If that happened present day, Beltre is a significantly richer man. No one really knows what the deal was with Beltre, but a new contract certainly could have served as motivation as he hit .334 with 48 home runs and 121 RBI.

I’m not suggesting that Ozuna will have that type of season, but if he did, Atlanta Braves probably forget who Josh Donaldson is, and we’re almost certainly set up for a deep playoff run even if Riley and Camargo are league average at third base.

Honestly, I am surprised that someone didn’t give Ozuna at least a couple of years (although Cincinnati tried really hard to do so), because at $18 million a year, I think he could turn into a real bargain.

Next. Looking at the Ozuna deal again. dark

For a final word, I’m going to put Ozuna at a .275 batting average with 31 home runs and 102 RBI for the 2020 season.

Home/Braves News