I’ve already said it ten times since the season ended, and I’ll probably say it a thousand more times over the next few months. With the Braves expected to pick up Marcell Ozuna‘s $16 million option for 2025, they have too many DHs on the roster heading into next season. Somebody has to go, and while I’ve generally discussed Jorge Soler as the odd man out, it’s not unfathomable that Alex Anthopoulos gauges the trade market for Marcell Ozuna as well.
Atlanta: They Should Trade Marcell Ozuna
To be clear, Atlanta is already expected to exercise Ozuna’s $16 million option for 2025. It’s an easy call, as he’s emerged from lost years in 2021 and 2022 to slam 79 homers over the last two seasons.
And yet, it will deliberately create a logjam at designated hitter as soon as it picks up Ozuna’s option. It’s the only truly viable position for both him and Jorge Soler, who will also pull in $16 million next season.
If one of them has to go, it should be Ozuna. And not just because he has more value than Soler right now. At 33, he is also a year older than Soler, and there’s a greater risk of what value he has going kaput in the near future.
Rymer is correct about several things. The Braves need to trade one of Marcell Ozuna or Jorge Soler. We know Ozuna can’t play in the outfield at this point in his career, but he might actually be better defensively than Soler, who was downright dreadful in right field after the Braves acquired him at the trade deadline. Had he started a full season in the outfield, he would have been by far the worst-rated defensive player in the game. The Braves can’t possibly be thinking about trying that again. Even if Soler continues to shine offensively, it will all be negated by how poorly he is defensively if asked to play right field.
Rymer is also right about Ozuna’s value. Even after all of the off-the-field incidents, there will probably be a lot of teams interested in his services after he finished just one home run shy of his second consecutive 40 homer, 100 RBI campaign. Over the last two seasons, there are only a handful of players that have been better than him with a stick, and while some fans might not approve of it, teams will overlook the transgressions off the field for a player that can reliably slug 40 homers while hitting over .300.
I also don’t disagree with Rymer’s idea of selling high on Ozuna. The past two seasons have been far and away the best years of his career. Prior to 2023, the Big Bear only had one season in which he eclipsed 30 homers and finished with an OPS north of .900, which came all the way back in 2017 when he was an All-Star for the Miami Marlins. Eventually, especially as he continues to age, regression is going to smack Ozuna right in the face, and it might not be pretty when it happens.
But what Rymer did not include in this piece that should also be considered is the health of Ronald Acuña Jr. The 2023 NL MVP is coming off his second ACL injury and has already said he plans to return at a much slower pace than he did a year ago. It’s very possible the Braves prefer to use him as a DH for large parts of next season and perhaps even further down the road, so why stop at moving one of Marcell Ozuna or Jorge Soler? Why not both?
It may sound crazy given the offensive struggles the team went through this season, but by trading them, the Braves can save north of $30 million, which is money that can be used to acquire an elite offensive bat that can also hold his own defensively. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibilities. In fact, it’s probably likely that if the Braves feel like it’s best for Acuña’s health if he’s used as a designated hitter.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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