Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna was arrested early Friday morning in Gwinnett County for driving under the influence.
Atlanta Braves fans had a lot to celebrate after last night’s series win over the New York Mets.
Unfortunately, fans will wake up this morning to disappointing news.
Outfielder and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna was arrested by Norcross Police for DUI and Failure to Maintain Lane. Ozuna was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail at 4:39 a.m. Friday morning.
BREAKING: Atlanta #Braves player Marcell Ozuna has been arrested for DUI. >> https://t.co/2zPAXEoC3i pic.twitter.com/iqDejlnPoP
— Atlanta News First (@ATLNewsFirst) August 19, 2022
This news comes a little over a year after Ozuna was also arrested and charged with felony assault after Sandy Springs police say they witnessed him choke his wife. He was suspended for this and returned to the team in 2022.
While Ozuna may not be contributing much to the team on the field, this behavior is unfair to his teammates who will likely have to field questions about this incident.
Ozuna is batting .214/.263/.656 on the season with 89 hits including 20 HR and 46 RBI.
He was absent from the lineup during the team’s biggest series of the year this past week as they took down the Mets. Ozuna hasn’t played since Sunday.
I don’t know how much more Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves can tolerate before they decide cutting ties with Ozuna may be the best course of action. It certainly feels like it’s a possibility.
Atlanta still owes Ozuna $18 million each of the next two years and a $1 million buyout for the 2025 season, so to cut him they’d have to eat $37 million.
That’s not something a typical budget-conscious team like the Braves would do, but with the domestic violence charges and now this, you have to wonder what negative effect he could be having in the clubhouse.
Plus, these instances make it even hard to try and move Ozuna this offseason in any kind of bad contract swap.
Keep your eyes on Tomahawk Take as this story continues to develop.