Boston Red Sox: Three offseason free agent targets
By Nick Stevens
Marcell Ozuna would be a huge upgrade for the Boston Red Sox.
Let’s get a little bolder with this next free agent target. The Boston Red Sox are expected to be more conservative this offseason, but they aren’t an organization like the Baltimore Orioles, who are a few years away from competing in the AL East.
Outfielder/DH Marcell Ozuna earned himself a big payday after an electric 2020 season with Atlanta.
The 29-year-old slashed .338/.431/.636 with 18 home runs, a career-high 14.2% walk rate, and an astronomical 179 wRC+. His 2.5 Wins Above Replacement matched his 2019 total in 130 games with the St. Louis Cardinals. His one-year deal with Atlanta to prove to himself and every other team that he could be the type of player he was in Miami worked out pretty well.
If Boston decides not to bring back Jackie Bradley Jr. they will be in the market for a corner outfielder, where Ozuna’s defense is a bit of a liability, but not terrible enough to run him out there for one season.
Look ahead to 2022 and there’s a possibility that Marcell Ozuna slides into the DH role. There’s no guarantee that J.D. Martinez rebounds from his dismal 2020 season and he could elect to leave after 2021. Having Ozuna ready to take over full-time DH duties would be a fantastic luxury.
He won’t get George Springer type money, but Ozuna would still cost the Red Sox a decent chunk of change. Maybe, with his defensive limitations and the likelihood that the DH does not return to the NL next season, the market for Ozuna shrinks, leaving a wide-open door for the Boston Red Sox.