The Atlanta Braves, fighting for the top spot in the pedestrian National League East, have lost left fielder Marcell Ozuna for six weeks due to two dislocated fingers suffered in a game against the Boston Red Sox. Unfortunately for the Braves, this is the second outfielder to be placed on the injured list in as many days with outfielder Cristian Pache going down one day prior.
Marcell Ozuna will be out for at least six weeks, as you may have seen he already posted on his Instagram. Snitker will provide more information when he talks to us at 4:30 p.m. ET.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 26, 2021
The 30-year-old Ozuna has struggled at the plate through 208 plate appearances hitting a paltry .213/.288/.645; far below his career averages of .273/.333/.794. An injury is never a good event. However, this time off may prove useful to Ozuna and finding his old form.
Ozuna has not been hitting the ball nearly as hard as in years past. His hard-hit percentage currently sits at 41.1%, his lowest of his nine-year career. In 2020, Ozuna’s hard-hit percentage was 13 percentage points higher than his current numbers. On batted balls, Ozuna’s pull percentage is down which could explain some of his issues at the plate.
Replacing Marcell Ozuna
The Braves will be looking for a replacement for their former All-Star left fielder. At first glance, Guillermo Heredia would be the right man for the job. However, Heredia has recently taken over the full-time centerfield job with Cristian Pache down and out due to injury. With Ozuna on the injured list and Heredia slated to stick to centerfield, outfielder Ender Inciarte becomes the left fielder.
The 30-year-old Inciarte is in his eighth major league season and sixth with the Atlanta Braves. So far, he has been used sparingly. With only 34 plate appearances on the year, Inciarte is hitting .276/.344/.654. Inciarte has struggled at the plate in recent years. Last year, Inciarte hit below the Mendoza line and showed very little power or production in just over 130 plate appearances. Since his 2018 season in which he had a 3.2 WAR, Inciarte has been unable to eclipse 1 WAR in the last three years.
Although Inciarte may be the replacement for Marcell Ozuna, it remains to be seen if he will be the six-week solution for the Braves. Based on past performance and lack of options in the minors, the Atlanta Braves would be well served by giving Inciarte a few weeks as the primary left fielder to determine if he can reclaim some of his old form at the plate.