St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina deciding factor in acquiring Marcell Ozuna

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 22: Javier Baez
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 22: Javier Baez /
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According to Carlos Martinez, Yadier Molina was the determining factor for the St. Louis Cardinals acquiring Marcell Ozuna from the Miami Marlins.

Even though the St. Louis Cardinals lost out on the bidding war for Giancarlo Stanton, the Miami Marlins graciously gifted All-Star outfielder Marcell Ozuna to the Redbirds — with the Marlins in full firesale mode, even though Derek Jeter denies it. Ozuna is a significant piece to the Cardinals 2018 puzzle and could put them over the top in the National League Central and beyond.

Apparently, the “restructure” of the Marlins wasn’t the only deciding factor in shipping the talents of Ozuna to Arch City, but there is another who played a vital role in the Cardinals acquiring one of the best players in all of MLB.

In a recent interview with KMOX Sports, Carlos Martinez opens up about his thoughts on the Ozuna trade, revealing significant details on why the former Marlins All-Star is now donning the Birds on the Bat uniform.

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Recruiting is a pastime, much like baseball is, and it’s encouraging that two of the essential players on the St. Louis Cardinals roster are so tight with their (now) best player. From early Spring training rumblings, the chemistry within the Cardinals locker room is already clicking — with veterans such as Matt Carpenter and Adam Wainwright leading by example in keeping things loose around the clubhouse. 

The talents of Ozuna are many and more than just on the baseball diamond, where his charismatic personality shone in a recent Spring training game in Jupiter, Florida.

Next: Cardinals 2018 Season Preview

St. Louis Cardinals fans should be ecstatic about Marcell Ozuna joining the club, a player who is capable of becoming a franchise player.

You should also send thank you “Cards” to Yadier Molina and Carlos Martinez for their efforts in bringing this high profile player to St. Louis.