Should the Braves Bring Back Marcell Ozuna?

Atlanta’s offseason plans for offense could determine if their veteran designated hitter returns in 2026

Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna made only two starts across a fourteen-day span from July 13th to July 27th (bridging the All-Star Break).

And statistically, it was a defensible position. Nursing a hip injury and dealing with an admitted “loss of confidence” at the plate, Ozuna hit just .239/.364/.396 with 13 homers through the season’s first 94 games.

But the time off apparently did Ozuna some good - since returning to mostly full-time work starting with the Kansas City series, Ozuna’s hit .314/.457/.829 with six homers despite a BABIP of just .208. In 12 games, he’s scored ten runs, driven in 14, and walked ten times to just six strikeouts.

But as premium subscriber Ozziefan755 asked me on Monday, is this resurgence enough for Atlanta to consider bringing Ozuna back at a discount? Let’s talk about it.

Why Ozuna would say yes to coming back

To put it simply, being comfortable.

Marcell Ozuna has been in Atlanta for five seasons now, signing a one-year deal for the shortened 2020 season and parlaying a .338/.431/.636 line and an NL-leading 18 homers and 56 RBI into a four-year, $65M pact with a club option for this season.

Despite some off-the-field issues and underperformance early in the deal, he’s reportedly loved in the Atlanta clubhouse. A native Spanish speaker (he’s originally from the Dominican Republic) who has played thirteen seasons in Major League Baseball, he is able to relate to just about everyone in the organization.

That comfort has led Ozuna to be a leader on the field. ‘The Big Bear’ has been cited by several players, ranging from Michael Harris II to Chris Sale, as either helping to spur a breakthrough or providing a well-timed pep talk at the perfect time to cut a slump short. He’s frequently seen on broadcasts as talking to pitchers and position players alike in the dugout, using the insights gleaned from a long career to help improve his teammates.

This season’s underperformance has largely been because of the hip injury, suffered during Atlanta’s series in Tampa Bay versus the Rays. We were told shortly after he returned to the lineup that this was not likely to heal itself and would require offseason surgery. It’s possible that Ozuna prefers to rehab as a part of Atlanta’s organization and try for one more impressive season before re-entering free agency and trying to get that elusive multi-year deal.

There’s also an off-the-field consideration to acknowledge here - his past legal issues. Ozuna has both been arrested for suspected domestic violence (charges were dropped, but he served a 20-game suspension from Major League Baseball) and arrested for DUI, where he pleaded no contest and paid a $1000 fine.

Because of these separate incidents, there are still fans and media members who look down on “Ozuna From the Braves” for these incidents and would undoubtedly not be happy about their team bringing in the designated hitter. While there are still some Braves fans who do not like the slugger being part of their organization, most Braves fans have since moved on. That does matter - Ozuna would not need to deal with those missteps being brought back up if he returned to Atlanta.

However, it’s not a “no-brainer” to return to Atlanta for The Big Bear.

Why Ozuna might prefer to move on

This comes down to both money and playing time.

Ozuna’s original multi-year deal he signed was for $16M in each of the first four seasons plus the same amount on this year’s club option. These six seasons in Atlanta have pushed Ozuna’s career earnings to $111.47M.

But returning to Atlanta will likely not allow him to significantly improve on that career number. Ozziefan755 alluded to this in his original question, asking if I’d be comfortable with $8-10M for the contract.

And I do think a smaller AAV figure would be required for the Braves to bring him back. All indications are that the Braves are comfortable using both catchers in the designated hitter role; not having a full-time DH allows for rotation of not only both catchers, but also veterans Jurickson Profar and Ronald Acuña Jr. through the DH spot to give them a “half-day” off every week. It tracks that the Braves would not be willing to pay ‘full freight’ for a part-time player; Ozziefan755 suggested two or three starts a week for Ozuna.

And that limited schedule might not work for Ozuna. During the run-up to the trade deadline, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that Ozuna was “expected to approve any deal if the team guarantees him everyday playing time.”

If the player truly believes when healthy, he’s closer to last season’s .302 average and 39 homers with 104 RBI than this season’s .240 average and 19 homers with 56 RBI, he’d likely want to rehab over the offseason and take the everyday playing time in another city.

But there are two sides to every deal.

---

Subscription break! We’re adding more premium subs every single day - shout out to our newest premium subscriber: Bruce, who upgraded from a free to an annual sub on Friday. If you’re a frequent reader and/or find yourself really appreciating what we do both here and on the YouTube channel, which includes daily podcasts, bonus or live shows when news breaks, our private group chat, and a soon-to-be-scheduled meetup for a Braves game, why not become a paying member? It’s $6/month or $69 a year, and it helps support everything we’re going over here on Braves Today.

---

Why Atlanta might want Ozuna back next year

This comes down to the devil you know versus the devil you don’t.

If Atlanta shares Ozuna’s belief that he’s capable of being last season’s MVP finalist with a surgically repaired hip, they may prefer to bring him back over going into the free agency market in a search for offense.

The Braves have embraced the flexibility of being able to insert any sort of hot hitter into the lineup in the designated hitter role. Since Atlanta first removed Ozuna from the DH spot on July 6th, they’ve used Drake Baldwin nine times and Sean Murphy five times in that spot. When Murphy cooled off, they started folding Ozuna back into playing time - only Ozuna and Baldwin have started at DH in the last seven games.

But that game plan is predicated on both health and having additional hitters who deserve to play. If the Braves go into free agency and can’t seem to be the winning bidder on a free agent slugger (or, hopefully, use their available funds to prioritize quality pitching in a deep class), they may choose to ‘run it back’ with Ozuna. This class doesn’t have a ton of DH-only options potentially available at a discount - outside of Ozuna, former Braves hero Joc Pederson is the only other real option - but there are plenty of top-end sluggers that project to demand significant salaries. It may be cheaper to go with Ozuna over bringing in a free agent.

But this same idea might work both ways.

Why Atlanta might move on from Marcell Ozuna

This comes down to the opportunity cost of running it back.

One of the major issues with rostering Marcell Ozuna is that he doesn’t provide anything but offense - he doesn’t run the bases well and isn’t providing anything on defense. It limits the team’s flexibility in not only roster construction, but attracting quality depth options to fill in for an injured starter.

Alex Anthopoulos has addressed this before, telling me that attracting quality depth is always a concern for Atlanta because they don’t have the ability to promise playing time to a free agent.

If you subtract a full-time designated hitter, the team gains the ability to sign one starter at almost any position (you wouldn’t sign one at catcher or first base, but almost everything else is open) and make sure they get in the lineup by utilizing the designated hitter spot to cycle them in.

There are options at almost every position, too; second base has Brandon Lowe, while third base has Eugenio Suarez and the outfield has everything from budget options like Max Kepler and Lane Thomas to bank-busting bats like Kyle Tucker and Kyle Schwarber.

The other option here is signing a true utility player, like Willi Castro of the Chicago Cubs, and playing them five days a week. By using the DH position to give those incumbents a half-day off and letting the utility player cover for them defensively, they can promise that free agent near-everyday playing time before an injury puts them into the lineup on an everyday basis.

So, what would I do?

No matter which direction Atlanta goes, there’s a case to be made each way. I think I’d explore a low-cost reunion with Ozuna, but not execute that deal unless the Braves struck out on the rest of their options in not only free agency, but via the trade market.

Essentially, I’d use Marcell Ozuna as a “break glass in case of emergency” option.

While Ozuna’s a quality hitter, he’s not of the caliber of Kyle Schwarber, who is legitimately one of the best hitters on the planet (and someone who I honestly expect Philadelphia to re-sign to a multi-year deal). And outside of Schwarber’s likely contract, there’s just not much track record to worry about here.

Designated hitters of age 35 or older rarely get more than one-year deals - the last multi-year deals for true DHs of that age were to Nelson Cruz and Victor Martinez back in 2014. While JD Martinez got five years from the Boston Red Sox back in 2018, he also played 823 outfield innings across the first two years of the deal. Marcell Ozuna has played a grand total of fourteen outfield innings in the last three seasons, all coming in the first week of 2023 before the Braves took his glove away.

He’s not giving you anything defensively, and the fact of the matter is that players of that age and that limited of a skillset almost never get big money or multiple years in free agency.

And with Ozuna’s familiarity and comfort in Atlanta, this might legitimately be a situation where the “hometown discount” comes into play. And even if Ozuna goes somewhere else, there’s nothing that says the Braves can’t try and reacquire him midseason if needed…like they did with Adam Duvall (2021) and Jorge Soler (2024).