Last season, the Atlanta Braves worked aggressively to transfer multiple players at the trade deadline. One of the names was DH Marcell Ozuna. Atlanta was apparently close to trade him, but Ozuna blocked three transactions in total.
“It’s probable that when Anthopoulos was considering trades, he couldn’t reach an agreement that Ozuna’s agency could approve. The fact that Ozuna is giving up control of the deadline does not imply that his 10-5 rights are lost. “He could have simply handed over those rights to his agent for the negotiations,” SI’s Harrison Smajovits noted.
Atlanta is now likely to start the 2018 season with a more varied approach to the DH position, including several potential choices.
“Bowman mentions names like Ronald Acuña Jr., Jurickson Profar, Sean Murphy, and even iron-man Matt Olson as players who could benefit getting off their feet and DHing from time to time,” HTHB’s Chase Owens said. “Reading the tea leaves, it appears that Anthopoulos and company believe a flexible DH position is the way to go in 2026.” Of course, a lot of this depends on who Atlanta signs this winter, but as things stand, the DH position appears to be heading in a new, more interesting direction in 2026.”
Ozuna might end up with the New York Mets, who could need a power bat if Pete Alonso leaves.
“Ozuna could also help to replace the right-handed presence of Alonso in the middle of the order, if the Mets don’t ultimately retain the franchise’s all-time home run leader,” Tim Kelly, of Bleacher Report, noted.
Adding Ozuna would make sense for the Mets as a short-term alternative, possibly on a one- or two-year contract, depending on their preferences. In the near term, Ozuna may assist replace the vacuum created by Alonso’s departure. However, seeing him in blue would take some getting used to.