What to Do with the Braves Designated Hitter Position

As we get into the offseason, a tricky question comes up again: What are the Atlanta Braves to do about the designated hitter position? Before the 2025 season, there wasn't a debate. It was Marcell Ozuna.

However, things started to go south for the 2024 All-Star. He hurt his hip early in the season and never quite was able to get going again apart from a small stint in August. The Braves weren't able to find a trade partner for him at the deadline, allowing him to finish the final year of his contract in Atlanta.

Ozuna's free agent status puts the designated position at a crossroads. They could either try to stick with what they've known for the last half decade or switch things up. A few factors are at play: performance, age and salary.

Coming off a down year, Ozuna is now nearly 35 years old and was previously making $16 million per season. It's a combination of factors that together make it a clear sign that it could be time to move on.

The most likely scenario that Ozuna comes back next year is via a cheaper contract and likely a short-term deal. Even if he just needs the offseason to get healthy again so he can bounce back, it's a gamble to pay him a similar amount. If he proves himself next year in a prove-it contract, that's one thing. Otherwise, the Braves would be wise to wipe their hands clean if he wants a dollar value or a longer-term deal.

If Ozuna doesn't come back, the debate becomes what to do next to fill the position. One option is a strategy that they tried for a time this season and have done so in the past. One catcher is penciled in behind the dish, and the other is the designated hitter for the game. Meanwhile, they keep a third catcher on hand in case they need to do a defensive substitution.

This assumes the Braves keep Sean Murphy, who could potentially be traded this offseason. If they don't, and Drake Baldwin becomes the full-time catcher, they migh have to go out on the market for a new DH. The in-house options are risky just because of the unknowns behind performance.

For example, Eli White makes for a great fourth outfielder, but he might not get the job done as a full time designated hitter.

So who to get on the open market? That's as good of a guess as anyone's. Quality full-time designated hitters are hard to come by. Some notable options on the free-agent market include Ryan O'Hearn or Josh Bell. Both had solid seasons, but they're also short-term options. That could be all the Braves need until they find another long-term option. Then again, they have to decide if they're upgrades over Ozuna.

These are not reported targets. These are just examples of players they could sign if they want to and can. You can tell just by this observation how difficult a task this can be. Now, imagine being general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

We'll see how it all plays out during the offseason with all the factors at play. Once they make the decision on their current long-term DH, it should start to become a clearly picture after that.

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