As the trade deadline approaches, Marcell Ozuna’s future with the Atlanta Braves remains in limbo. He’s reportedly going to be available at the deadline to any interested party, but get final say in whether he’s on the move.
He has 10-5 right, which gives him an automatic no-trade clause simply because he has been in the league for at least 10 seasons and has been with the same team for at least five years.
While he has this right, Ozuna isn’t reportedly leaving that decision up to him. According to the Athletic’s David O’Brien, Ozuan is leaving decisions up to his agent.
“Yeah, whatever they decide, I have to get it. I work for them; they have the decision, and whatever (decision) they make, I have to do it,” he told The Athletic.
He didn’t mention any possibility of vetoing a move. O’Brien also reported that there was an implication that there had been talks of a potential trade.
“That’s my agent and Alex (Anthopoulos), that’s what they’re working on. I don’t know,” he said to The Athletic.
Ozuna reportedly is no longer dealing with an injured hip. He’s now just working on getting his swing and timing back in order.
Over the last 60 games before the All-Star Game, he was batting .217 with a .684 OPS with eight home runs and 30 RBIs. He's had his clutch moments during that span, but they've become hard to come by.
He’s been mostly out of the lineup since the Braves returned to action after the All-Star Break. He had one at-bat that came in the bottom of the ninth of the 12-9 loss to the Yankees on Saturday as a pinch hitter, where he struck out. He started the following game, going 0-for-4.
He was out of the lineup for the series opener against the San Francisco Giants Monday night.
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