Marcell Ozuna‘s latest incident was behind the wheel, as he picked up a DUI early Friday morning following the Braves win against the Mets.
Given his off-the-field issues and lack of results on the field, Ozuna’s contract has quickly turned into the worst in all of baseball. And as I said recently, there’s next to no chance the Braves can get out from under the remaining $41 million owed to him. Regardless, it’s a sunk cost, and Alex Anthopoulos needs to move on from one of the few porous decisions he’s made as a general manager.
But as bad as Marcell Ozuna has been over the course of his current contract, it will never be nearly as outrageous as this trade the Cardinals made to acquire him from Miami prior to the 2018 season. I’ve actually written about this before, but it’s so mind-boggling that I had to touch on it again, given the circumstances.
Best trade of the last decade? Has to be Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, Daniel Castano and Magneuris Sierra for Marcell Ozuna
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 19, 2022
Now, I’m all for aggressive trades, especially if you’re right in the middle of your championship window, but the Cardinals haven’t even sniffed a World Series since this. They made the NLCS once in 2019 but were quickly smacked around and swept by the Nationals.
Meanwhile, Alcantara has turned into arguably the best pitcher in baseball. He should run away with the NL Cy Young award this year. Gallen may be lesser known, but he’s not far off from Alcantara in terms of talent. On the season, he’s 9-2 with a 2.78 ERA in 23 starts for the Diamondbacks.
Those two alone could combine for 150 WAR over the course of their careers. Meanwhile, Ozuna totaled 4.6 WAR in two seasons with St. Louis. To make matters worse, the Cardinals even had to throw in a couple of sweeteners in Daniel Castano, who has been a decent reliever for the Marlins, and Magneuris Sierra.
This is among the most lopsided trades in MLB history, and it’s just a reminder that while the Marcell Ozuna situation has been abysmal for the Braves, it could always be worse.
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