Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Marcell Ozuna

Cincinnati Reds

It’s no mystery the Reds are hot in their pursuit of offense, but it’s hard to see how rewarded they’ll be for their efforts this winter.

Coming off a Cinderella run to the postseason, it’s clear addressing the lineup must be priority No. 1.

It doesn’t just make sense for them, though, as Great American Ball Park makes a lot of sense for Ozuna also. The slugger hit 21 home runs this past season, but Statcast says he’d have had 24 in Cincinnati. Dubbed with the nickname of “Great American Small Park,” the Reds are a safe haven for offensive production, making them an attractive destination.

That said, the Reds were one of just nine teams with a wRC+ below 100 out of the designated hitter spot in 2025. Officially, they were 23rd (96) with a 21st-ranked 21 home runs and 23rd-ranked -0.2 fWAR. While Ozuna didn’t set the world on fire this past season, he’d easily be an upgrade over what the Reds got.

On a one-year deal, the Reds get protection behind Elly De La Cruz, perhaps setting the stage for him to finally break out at the dish.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Staying in the National League Central, the Pirates are a team to watch this winter.

After reportedly offering $80 million to first baseman Josh Naylor, and with general manager Ben Cherington hinting that they’d like to add to their payroll, the Pirates also make sense for Ozuna’s services.

The deterrent here is likely the veteran Andrew McCutchen, who seems to be in “Pirates or retirement” mode ahead of his age-39 season. However, the fringe Hall of Famer has declined from a 115 wRC+ in 2023, to 106 in 2024, to just 95 this past year. While watching him go out where it all began is beautiful for the game, it’s got to come to a close eventually.

Replacing him with someone like Ozuna is something of a stark contrast optically, but he’d be a sizeable upgrade on the field. While PNC Park would’ve hurt his power production every year of his Braves tenure, that doesn’t mean signing there is a bad idea.

The Pirates played at a 77-win pace after firing Derek Shelton last season. Not good, but in line with their output the previous two seasons. With uncertainty surrounding the long-term future of Ace Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh, there’s pressure on the team to start winning or risk losing him for a draft pick in a few years.

Ozuna is hardly a star at this stage of his career, but he’d provide stability to that lineup.

Kansas City Royals

Another team on the prowl for offense is the Kansas City Royals. While rumors circulated early this offseason that they’d be big game hunting on offense, it feels more reasonable to expect they sign someone in Ozuna’s tier of bat.

Not the greatest ballpark for offense, but the Royals have taken a righty slugger and turned him into a monster before (see: Jorge Soler). Ozuna is a bit older than Soler was when he led the league in homers, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a good addition for that roster.

As a team, the Royals had a 28th-ranked 69 wRC+ out of the DH spot in 2025. The gap between them and 27th-ranked Houston was a hair better than the gap between the Astros and 22nd-ranked Pittsburgh.

Kansas City has a very intriguing rotation, within it four All-Stars. Its lineup also has intriguing players up-and-down between Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, Vinnie Pasquantino, among others. However, the offense is definitely a glaring weakness.

Again, Ozuna is a great fallback option should Kansas City miss out on a big fish this winter.

Arizona Diamondbacks

A team in need of offense, no matter the position, the D-Backs make a ton of sense for Ozuna as well.

While they got the seventh-best wRC+ at the DH position, they got there by committee. In total, 14 different players played the position with five logging at least 19 games. Among them were Naylor and fellow free agent Eugenio Suarez.

Right now, FanGraphs projects Adrian Del Castillo as the team’s Opening Day designated hitter. The 26-year-old had a 147 wRC+ in 25 big-league games in 2024 before dropping to an 87 in 2025. His wOBA also dropped from .384 to .295 and his home runs stayed at four despite 19 more games played.

Not to say Del Castillo can’t emerge as a potent offensive weapon, but Ozuna raises the floor considerably in 2026.

Los Angeles Angels

This one is pretty much entirely contingent on Mike Trout and his ability to play the field in 2026.

Having just traded Taylor Ward to the Baltimore Orioles, the Angels greatly raised the ceiling of their rotation. As a cost, though, their offense took a massive hit.

Right now, Gustavo Campero is the projected left fielder. If Trout is capable of withstanding the outfield, that could easily be him out there. Now, the Angels also have Soler, theoretically giving them three designated hitters with outfield eligibility. However, Ozuna increases the power production in the heart of that order.

Trading Ward for Grayson Rodriguez, while replacing Ward in the lineup with Ozuna, is tremendous value gaming by general manager Perry Minasian. Here’s what the Angels looked like before the deal went down:

Should they add Ozuna, here’s how that changes:

Ozuna hasn’t played the field at all since 2023, hence this marriage being contingent on Trout playing the field. But this landing spot gives the Angels a very intriguing lineup with a talented rotation.

The American League West isn’t much of a powerhouse behind the Seattle Mariners. With the Texas Rangers rumored to be shedding payroll, the Astros getting older and potentially losing Framber Valdez, and the Athletics still in a rebuilding phase, the time is now for the Angels to emerge from mediocrity.