Marcell Ozuna played a huge role in leading the Atlanta Braves to the NLCS in 2020. Rightfully, the Braves want to run it back in 2021.
The Atlanta Braves and Marcell Ozuna marriage in 2020 was everything each side was hoping for. Ozuna, on a one year contract, had the best season of his career. And the Braves reaped the rewards of that success with an NLCS appearance.
So it’s only natural that the Braves would want to be included in the bidding for Ozuna’s services in 2021 and beyond. What will that contract look like? That’s almost impossible to tell. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent revenue loss for organizations, we’re heading towards an unprecedented free agency season. It’d really be pointless to try to estimate Ozuna’s contract until teams establish the financial flexibility they’ll be working with.
But with a talent like Ozuna, coming off the year that he had, there should be no doubt that he’ll be well compensated for his services.
And the Braves will likely be able to find the money to spend. They locked Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. up on early contract extensions that could qualify for baseball grand larceny. And Ozuna was one of only four Braves to be making over $10 million per year in 2020. It certainly wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that a similar AAV of $18 million over multiple years could bring Ozuna back.
The real question comes with the expected Freddie Freeman extension, and how much the Braves are willing to spend on the market to shore up the pitching staff. Like Ozuna, Freeman is also coming off a career year. And the Braves first priority this offseason should be working out his extension.
After that, they’re expected to be big players in the Trevor Bauer sweepstakes and will likely be linked to a number of other pitchers. After Mike Soroka and Cole Hamels went down with injuries, the 2020 starting rotation was in rough shape. Beyond Max Fried and, later in the season, Ian Anderson, starter production was less than ideal.
The Braves might decide that the Ozuna money would be better spent on Bauer or a litany of other available arms. Losing Ozuna would be a huge blow to the offense, but it was pretty clear in the NLCS that the Braves didn’t have the pitching depth to compete with the Dodgers.
Of course, then you consider the long term value of Ozuna with the likely permanent introduction of the NL Designated Hitter. Even as Ozuna ages, and thus becomes more of an injury concern and liability on defense, the DH provides the opportunity to keep his legs fresh and his bat in the lineup. That undoubtedly increases his value to the organization and a lineup as lethal as the 2020 Braves can do a lot of damage in future postseasons.
In the end, I expect the Atlanta Braves to do everything in their power to keep Ozuna. Maybe that takes them out of the Trevor Bauer sweepstakes, maybe it doesn’t. But the top of their rotation with Soroka, Fried, and Anderson is good enough to run in a postseason series, and adding a Kevin Gausman or Taijuan Walker would be a more affordable option for depth.
This pairing was a perfect match for both parties, so why not keep it going?