Atlanta Braves: The Upward Trajectory of Marcell Ozuna
By Seth Carter
On January 21st the Atlanta Braves made another splashy free-agent acquisition this offseason. We take a look at the improvement in Ozuna’s game last season.
Atlanta Braves‘ fans were left reeling with shock when news broke that Josh Donaldson had signed a four-year pact with the Minnesota Twins.
We had talked ourselves into the impression that the Braves would lay down as much as four-years and $100 million for the 34-year-old slugger.
Ultimately, Alex Anthopoulos (painfully) had other plans. Anthopoulos has since confirmed that Donaldson loved his time with the Braves and wanted to give us the last opportunity.
However, Anthopoulos and his studious front office refused to budge from the determined value of the player.
Anthopoulos let his old friend from their Toronto days – a friend that made him look brilliant by winning the AL MVP in his first season there – head back to the American League.
There had to be more to this plan than simply being unwilling to overpay (by their determination). It turns out…there was.
The New Cleanup Hitter
In a deal similar to the one-year, extra dollars to prove yourself deal we gave Donaldson in 2019, Marcell Ozuna will receive $18 million to prove he’s worth a long-term deal with a high AAV next season. Teams are a little hesitant due to the drop off from his All-Star campaign in 2017.
GM, Alex Anthopoulos said something to that effect,
"“We’d be happy with what he did the last few years, but we think there’s that upside in him to be even better.”"
A one-year deal carries little risk and keeps the doors open for prospects Cristian Pache and Drew Waters. Pache and Waters make up two of the Braves’ top three prospects and they are both outfielders.
With all that being said, we are excited to bring Ozuna on board. There was some concern over his arm issues and drop off in production from his massive 2017 campaign, but there’s no denying what kind of contributor he’s been.
In the next few slides, we’ll take a look at areas of Ozuna’s game in which he made big strides last season.