Why Braves May Not Be as Interested in Marcell Ozuna
The Atlanta Braves don’t appear to be showing a ton of interest in Marcell Ozuna this offseason. We look at why that could be the case.
While the Atlanta Braves under Alex Anthopoulos have done a great job of keeping their work quiet, it’s a little strange that we haven’t heard much about them being linked to Marcell Ozuna this offseason.
In fact, a recent tweet from Hector Gomez indicated that there are six teams showing interest in Ozuna right now and the Braves were not listed in that group.
The teams he did list include the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Mets, Twins, and Brewers.
Now again, the Braves keep things pretty tight in their camp, so not seeing their name here doesn’t mean they haven’t been keeping in contact with Ozuna’s camp.
In fact, I feel pretty confident that the two sides have been in close contact all offseason.
But I feel like it’s similar to what happened with Ozuna the past offseason. Essentially the Braves told him to give them time to explore other options (Josh Donaldson) and if nothing works out we’ll give you one year deal for $18 million.
There have been reports that the Braves were in on George Springer — although, I think their level of ‘being in’ was overblown — and it’s even been reported they have interest in J.T. Realmuto.
That to me says that Ozuna has always been at least third in the pecking order of offseason targets for the Braves.
You almost get the sense that they have Ozuna in their back pocket in case their top options don’t work out — at least that’s the way I’m choosing to believe it’s happening.
Why isn’t Ozuna the Top Choice for the Atlanta Braves?
I asked Braves fans on Twitter if they’d rather sign Realmuto for 5 years and $125 million or Ozuna for 4 years and $75 million.
Realmuto at 5/$125 or Ozuna at 4/$75?
— Jake Mastroianni (@ShortStopBall) January 24, 2021
The overwhelming majority of the responses were for Ozuna, which was a little surprising to me considering Realmuto is considered by most to be the best in the game at his position.
You’d then have the best catcher in the game, the best first baseman in the game, a top five outfielder in the game, and a top five second baseman.
But I get it from a Braves fan perspective. That’s a lot of money and years for a 30-year-old catcher, and Atlanta already has a pretty good catcher in Travis d’Arnaud — as well as a couple of top prospects who could be ready in 2022.
Plus, Ozuna fills a hole that the current roster has in left field (maybe).
I think maybe one of the biggest reasons the Braves are balking on Ozuna at the moment is because his defense was even worse than they thought when they signed him last offseason.
Without the certainty of a DH in 2021, it makes it really hard to pay him all that money when he’s such a liability in the field.
Even more than that, do you really want to pay a guy close to $20 million a year to play 15 minutes in a game as the team’s DH?
To me, there are far better ways to piece together a DH for a lot cheaper, and maybe that’s what the Braves are thinking.
I’m also concerned that we’re going to be paying high on him after a great stint in 2020 that really could have just been a hot streak over two months.
Do you really think the Braves are going to get another wRC+ plus season over 150 from Ozuna again?
Even in his best full season in 2017, he had a wRC+ of 143.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Ozuna goes back to his career norm of around 110 over a full season.
That’s still a really good player, but not the type of production you’d be paying top dollar for.
Of course, that’s more my thinking and not the Braves, but I have to believe the same thoughts are running through their minds; otherwise they would have already brougth him back.
How Does the Ozuna saga end with the Braves?
I’ve been trying to warn all of you for a while now that it’s very likely Ozuna and the Braves don’t reunite.
I get the love for Ozuna and how well he fit in the lockerroom — the same was true for Josh Donaldson. It’s very evident in the responses to my tweet above that the fans love Ozuna and desperately want him back.
But like Donaldson, AA has a number in mind that he’s willing to go to, and once another team offers more, that’s that.
AA has shown he’s not willing to give out a huge long-term deal to players in their thirties, and I personally don’t see Ozuna aging well.
On the flip side, there aren’t a ton of better options out there unless AA finally decides to part with some prospects and make a big trade.
And the Braves are in a window to win a World Series, so you can’t let this offseason pass by without finding a big bat for the lineup.
Perhaps Ozuna does fall to the Braves, or maybe we wait this think out long enough for MLB to suddenly decide they want a DH in 2021.
But if I were a betting man — and I’m definitely not — I’d put my money on Ozuna signing elsewhere this offseason for the same reasons Donaldson did. Me saying that means you can be assured the Braves will sign Ozuna today — you’re welcome.
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I just don’t feel like Ozuna is the guy AA is willing to go all-in on and go past the number he’s comfortable with, which is generally what you have to do in order to sign big free agents like Ozuna.