Hector Gomez reported late on Friday that the Braves are approaching a multi-year deal with Marcell Ozuna, which was later confirmed by several other insiders.
After a long off-season of little news following the signings of Drew Smyly and Charlie Morton at the start, the Braves are bringing back the hitter that was so productive for them in 2020. Joel Sherman of the New York Post and MLB Network adds to the report saying that Ozuna is getting 4 years guaranteed with money in the $ 60 million range. Apparently, there is also a fifth-year team option that would raise the contract to about $ 80 million. These figures are a very low annual average for Ozuna, but the years bring the total to a sum that Ozuna must be quite satisfied with, even if it is not exactly what he wanted.
Ozuna is closing a 4-year contract with an option from #Braves. I heard that the total will be around $ 60 million.
– Joel Sherman (@ Joelsherman1) February 6, 2021
Ozuna was nothing short of incredible in 2020 on the board, posting an absurd 179 wRC +, with Statcast numbers to support production. Ozuna seemed to be loved by the Braves players and was certainly a fun player to watch, so it looks like everyone in the Braves country will be happy to see him back in Atlanta.
Ozuna hit a lot of the designated hitting point in 2020, so if DH is not back in the National League in 2021, he will have to play to the left, which is not ideal, but the Braves clearly considered it worth catching your bat impact back on the roster. This is especially true when the general assumption around the league is that DH will become universal in the new CBA starting in the 2022 season, even if it does not happen in 2021.
Braves’ official Twitter account tweeted an iconic video clip of Ozuna doing a home run in the playoffs and taking a fake selfie as a celebration on the grassroots as I wrote this article, confirming the news.