The Atlanta Braves had a dilemma on their hands.
It was May 1st, and Marcell Ozuna had just finished batting .085 for the month of April. The oft-maligned designated hitter was getting boo'd at home, partly because of his statistical performance and partly because of his legal troubles (Ozuna's been arrested twice since 2021, once in a domestic disturbance and once for driving under the influence.)
Fans were asking Atlanta to cut him, despite the two years and $32M left on his contract.
But Brian Snitker stuck with him. When asked why after the season, this was his response:
"I just couldn't bring myself to sit there and look at this guy, knowing what he was capable of and how he was handling it, and not just continue to give it a crack and try to light the fire."
And boy did Ozuna light that fire. It can be argued that, outside of maybe Shohei Ohtani, no designated hitter in baseball was hotter than Ozuna from May 1st through the end of the season, with "The Big Bear" batting .297/.366/.603 with 38 homers the rest of the way. He finished the season with a .274 average and a career-high 40 homers, solidifying the #5 spot in the order behind Matt Olson and hitting the record-tying 307th homer of Atlanta's season
When it was clear that the Braves weren't going to DFA Ozuna, the hope across the fanbase was that his production would recover to the point where Atlanta could trade him this offseason, preferably to get a quality asset in return but at the very least to free up his $16M AAV in 2024 for free agent signings.
His clubhouse presence, as a veteran player from Latin America, has been cited by both the international contingent and the younger players as a steadying presence - Michael Harris II credits a well-timed pep talk from the veteran for his season turning around in early June.
And no he's not playing giving you any innings in the outfield, having only started in left field twice during the first week of the season. But he's been diligently taking grounders at first base before every game, and even manned the position during Atlanta's intersquad matchups prior to the NLDS. He wanted to be available and useful in case of emergency, which is always appreciated.
Provided he can continue to hit (and stay out of any more legal trouble), it's not only likely that Atlanta doesn't trade Ozuna, it's increasingly likely that they pick up his 2025 option at $16M, his age 34 season.
And the Braves lineup - and clubhouse - is better for it.
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