The Braves have been no strangers to injuries since the start of the 2024 campaign, and the latest concerning development surrounds Marcell Ozuna, who is absent from the team’s starting lineup for the series opener in Toronto.
https://twitter.com/Braves/status/1911880313879265642
That lineup genuinely hurts my eyes to look at, especially considering where this team was just a couple of years ago.
Marcell Ozuna has been by far the Braves best offensive player this season, and a case could be made that he’s been the best Braves hitter dating back to the start of the 2023 campaign. He already has three homers through 15 games to go along with a batting average over .300, an on-base percentage nearing .500, and an OPS of over 1.000.
The Braves offense is off to a painfully slow start. They rank 29th in the league in runs with 49, ahead of only the Rockies. The last thing they can afford is for Marcell Ozuna to miss any time, and the fact that he is not playing should raise some eyebrows. Ozuna appeared in all 162 games for the Braves a season ago.
According to manager Brian Snitker, it’s a minor leg injury for the Big Bear. He described it as nothing serious, but those words have been said about far too many Braves over the last calendar year, only for them to go on and miss significant time.
Hopefully, Marcell Ozuna is back in the lineup for the Braves tomorrow. This team needs to start stacking wins in bunches, and that’s not going to be easy to do while trotting out a lineup featuring Bryan De La Cruz, Stuart Fairchild, Nick Allen, and Eli White.
Whew, that is disgusting.
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