The market for free-agent slugger Marcell Ozuna is “moving forward,” reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid, and the Rays are among the final few teams involved in the mix. A deal is not yet imminent, per the report. Tampa Bay is something of a surprise entrant, though MLB Network’s Jon Heyman recently indicated interest on the Rays’ behalf.
At the time, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweeted that Ozuna would only land with the Rays in the event of a “major shift” in his contract goals, suggesting they’d likely only be serious players on a one-year deal. Mish, however, writes that Ozuna’s eventual deal is expected to be for either three or four years. Additional reports out of the Dominican in recent days connected Ozuna to the Rays enough that he took to Instagram to stress that he does not have any sort of agreement with Tampa Bay.
As for the incumbent Braves, a reunion is still possible, Mish adds. Earlier this morning, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweeted that Atlanta “continues to be the favorite” to sign Ozuna. The Braves, of course, received elite production at the plate from Ozuna in the shortened 2020 season, but their interest in him — as is the case with many NL clubs — has been somewhat tempered due to the lack of agreement on the return of the designated hitter in the National League.
One fringe suitor likely disappeared when the Twins agreed to a new deal with Nelson Cruz earlier this week. Technically speaking, Minnesota still has room to add Ozuna and play him in left field, but that seems decidedly unlikley. Cruz always appeared to be the Twins’ top target, but reports in the past couple of weeks indicated that after a months-long stalemate, they’d at least considered pivoting to Ozuna.
It at least worth an anecdotal mention that one of Ozuna’s former clubs, the Cardinals, has a suddenly less-crowded outfield picture after trading Dexter Fowler to the Angels last night. There’s been no indication the Cards would make a serious run at Ozuna — they’re reported to be more in the market for rotation help — but a considerable shift in the outfield mix for a suddenly motivated buyer who knows Ozuna well has already led to some speculation among fans.
id bet a nice sum he isnt going to the Rays
TB outbids ATL on a short-term AAV with the money they saved on Morton. Doh!
I’d rather have Morton than Ozuna…
Not me. The rays pitching will be fine. They’re going to need to score some runs though. They need the power bat in the lineup every day. The rays can patch together an above average to good rotation every year. And they have a great bullpen.
That said, as a Tampa Bay native, I know for a near fact they will not sign Ozuna. The rays will never go over 2 years.
Ruckus – agreed on everything you say.
Ozuna won’t take another short term deal. 3 years with opinion/buy-out at least.
I still think ATL.
We (ATL) really need Ozuna so I’m going to be optimistic about him until he signs elsewhere, even though the Braves give no reason to be optimistic about such a signing considering their track record.
i mean unless a real competitor shows up then who is he really going to. STL actually seems like the best alternative now and we’ve heard nothing connecting the two yet.
Cardinal fan here, the post writer said that Fowler was traded to give Williams and Thomas more opportunities. So I doubt that will be going after Ozuna.
JBJ?
The STL FO may remember that ball that bounced off the top of Ozuna’s head for a home run even more clearly than the Dodgers bullpen recalls it. It was a pretty comical play.
@DMC – I would guess one of these teams: Yankees, Dodgers, Braves, Phillies, Nationals and Astros for JBJ.
@runDmc
Bradley makes absolutely no sense. … first off, they have Pache in center. While I’m sure he will become a very fine all around player, his value right now is his defense in center. Bradley can hardly hit his weight. He also will be overpaid to play center. He could get a 5 or 6 year deal as the consolation to springer. That has little to do with how good Bradley is and more to do with the lack of quality centerfield options left aside from him in FA.
@123Redsox — I meant JBJ? for STL’s (@robertj53086) comment. They saved some on Fowler and JBJ is a better version of Fowler with more upside, though STL seems to have enough OF depth with defensive capabilities to not need him.
i’ll be honest i don’t want see ozuna in a cards uniform i wasn’t impressed with his first stint in stl. now this is just my opinion and i may be wrong on this but unless the nl gets the dh this year ozuna is not a good fit imo his defense was worse than jose martinez.
But if you sign Ozuna to more than a one year deal. What do you do with Waters. They have hung onto him for a reason. Better option is to try and trade for Story.
DH is a sure thing in 2022. 2021 is the one that is in question. That is why I thinking signing Ozuna is a no brainer.
I don’t think baseball is a sure thing in 2022
True statement
DH. It’ll happen in 2021 I’m sure as well
Story is gonna cost Waters and then some.
Mj- we don’t need ozuna take a deep dive in to his stats he isn’t the middle of the order bat we need because he isn’t a middle of the order hitter. Ozuna has hit over .280 twice in his career a 60 game season and 2017. He’s only hit 23+ hrs twice in the last 6 years. He’s only ever hit 80+ rbi twice in last 6 years. Lastly he only has had a 110 ops+ twice in six years and has only broke 2.4 war threshold twice in his career. Sorry but that’s no middle of the order bat.
Well one thing to consider is the tax situation in Florida and Texas is different to the point were 15 mil from the rays is prob equal to 18 from everyone else in the usa and 20ish from the jays.
A hockey player left montreal for dallas recently and he was offered over 7 mil per, he told montreal he would stay for the same money, but that would have been around 11 per if i remember correctly
Lol what?
Georgia state tax is 5%
5% of 15 mil is 750k. There’s actually numbers you can check if you want to know the impact on a player. It’s not like these rates are kept secret
Lol at 3 mil more. I can see why most people in this country suck with finances so bad
He didn’t mention Georgia.
Tampa Bay is in Florida, not Georgia. Learn to read before you post this condescending BS.
Maybe you should read
“Everyone else in the USA”
Last I checked Georgia is part of everyone else. That feeling when you think you’re about to check someone with a smart *** post but get wrecked yourself instead
His reference was to Ozuna going back to the braves and he was showing the difference between state income tax there and Florida, using actual numbers, not just speculative hyperbole, but you probably missed that while you were looking for a reason to attack a poster.
Exactly right. The tax situation isn’t that drastic between states or between countries. It’s some consideration but it shouldn’t be the overriding factor when choosing a team to play for.
Back to the Cardinals
Only on a very short (preferably one year) deal, I’d guess. They start having to pay Arenado next year.
I don’t think that ozuna will be back to stl, but even with paying arenado next year, cards most likely have molina and Wainwright off the books…but they could do it, especially with dh inevitable soon
Most likely Carp off the books as well.
Unfortunately not until 2023 unless there’s a buyout/salary dump with him as well. But yeah coming off soon enough to help offset, i agree
The Rays set a 12:27 EST deadline.
Nothing with the Rays shock me anymore for now on whenever they make a move I have my full trust in it. They seem to be one of the best at scouting and signing very good players and parting ways from them at the right times. Look at Alex Cobb for example he was a serviceable pitcher for the Rays for 6 Years and then signs a massive contract with the O’s and then he becomes terrible and gets dumped. Chris Archer 2018 Rays are doing alright and maybe have a wild card. They trade Archer which is strange for a team competing but the trade totally works out in their favor. I believe that they will win the East due thanks to some breakout players. At worst they are at least competitive this year.
did they have your full trust with what they did after 2008?
Well, they gained my trust over the past couple of years. They are truly amazing at what they do. For the past few years, they have been my 2nd fav team. Behind my Cubbies of course..
Your cubbies are now officially has beens.
@cubswin108 as a cards fan i hope your “retool/rebuild” goes quick. i may have a great distaste for the cubs but if the cards and cubs are good teams at the same just makes baseball better.
Just remember the Rays finished first exactly once in the past decade. They finished third or lower six times. Yeah, the Rays do well on a small budget once in a while. But keep it in perspective.
ur dumb bro. the rays have like the 5th best record in baseball over the past 12 years
I wrote the truth. Six third place or lower finishes in the past decade. 2012 (3rd), 2014 (4th), 2015 (4th), 2016 (5th), 2017 (3rd), 2018 (3rd).
“yeah the rays do well on a small budget once in a while”. If once in awhile means the 5th best record in baseball over the past 12 years then yes you wrote the truth
Cite your facts. I wrote mine. Where’s your link? They’re certainly not 5th in the past decade. Their average finish in the AL East alone has been about 3rd, maybe a bit lower.
The only stat that counts is winning the World Series. Number of wins over x number of years is background noise.
here you go big guy heres a reddit post with a chart compiling the records in the 2010s
reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/db33an/final_decade…
I’m not going to do more work for you to show you how much of a clown you are
It’s still true that the Rays have averaged a 3rd place finish in the past decade, which is more recent than the records that you are citing. And which is the FACT I’m reporting. It’s like saying the Red Sox have 4 titles in the past 17 years vs. the Yankees having 5 titles in the past 25 years. Which is more valuable? I’m talking about the past decade. That’s more recent. You’re talking about the last 12+ years. My FACTS about the past 10 years are just as true as your facts going back deeper into history. I think the past decade is more telling. It talks about how well the Rays have done more recently.
The only “clown” here is the guy using the word. He didn’t disrespect you by calling you a childish name.
are you trying to claim that the teams records throughout the 2010s are not fact? LMAO
@windowpane he is a clown based on ridiculous comments he has made in the past on this site, which have continued on this thread. he disrespected me by throwing out bs and then doubting the validity of my statistics (which he has now implied were illegitimate somehow)
No, yandy, I didn’t claim that the records of the 2010’s aren’t true. I claimed that the records of the past decade are more recent and thus more telling of the Rays performance more recently.
yandy, so you doubled-down on your clown accusation against windowpane. Ad hominem attacks are for the weak-minded. If you can’t debate without calling people names you’re not very mature. You are an exceedlingly touchy homer. I’ve seen this overweening aggressiveness in Rays threads from you before. And the childish name-calling. You need to rein it in and speak more dispassionately.
gotta agree with you on this – yanks have a more talented starting roster but their injury concerns and the Rays depth might let the Rays take the division.
I agree. The Rays may take the division. The question, of course, is how well Archer and Wacha do vs. Snell and Morton, and how well their depth pitchers do.
He’ll be a Brave again… they still have a hole in the OF, and 3 years is a reasonable length for Ozuna… Wish the Marlins brought him back but unfortunately we have Dickerson… hopefully he can rebound this year.
If he ends up on the Rays, he would expect lots of playing time. The way the Rays utilize saber metrics for match ups and line ups and so on, I don’t think he’d be interested. Would it be practical to pay him $20 million to be a full time DH, when they already have Meadows, Arozarena, Kiermayer and Margot in the fold? Heck, they even have the Japanese import Tsutsugo as a DH, CIF and COF. Time will tell!
ur wrong. the rays dont platoon 179 wrc+ bats until they show that they need to be platooned
@yandy – if you’re a Yandy Diaz fan and watch the Rays and using a sabremetric I wouldn’t care cause he is a better player than those they have. Yet, they made the WS without Ozuna and now their shift is to offense cause their pitching is not up to par from what it was in 2020. It’s like in basketball, as long as you outscore the other team with a lot of offensive shooters and so on and have more possessions (in baseball, more at-bats) the better chance you win. And if they don’t platoon Ozuna, who loses at-bats? Sure as heck not Arozarena or Kiermaier. Choice between Meadows or Margot if he plays everyday as DH or RF…. of course Margot, right? Just limit his production so his 1st or 2nd year of arbitration is low, right?
It’s okay, I get it because he could be a trade chip if he doesn’t work out and also possible compensation as a FA.
He is still viable for days off as a platoon because they do look at match ups. I know you see a Rays lineup before where they batted Choi at the top of the order a couple of times.
Im telling you as a rays fan that we do not platoon elite hitters (which means peformances like pham, 2020 lowe, 2019 meadows). If ozuna is mashing like he did in 2020 then he is in the lineup everyday regardless of splits, just like arozarena is going to be in the lineup everyday until (if) he regresses. The rays rotate players around the field as they value players with versatility. Ozuna would dh or play in the corner most days.
@yandy – Pham traded because they couldn’t afford, right? They did put him at COF and DH. Same with this plan for Ozuna. Nothing wrong with naming them as an elite hitter, but I would think elite has a case for Tony Gwynn. I get it that the “Pete” is a hitter’s park, but elite is pushing it for those guys. I’d like to see that rotation since it’s only the COF and DH. If Arozarena ain’t hitting, Ozuna to left right?
By elite hitter, I mean an elite hitter in the game at the time. I would have to look but i would bet that the referenced pham lowe and meadows seasons (maybe not pham) were top 30 performances in baseball at that time. I’m not talking all time elite performances. I would see ozuna primarily in right since thats where we stick meadows’ garbage defense when hes in the field
He’s a dh/ part time outfielder at best and he thrived in the role last year. He would definitely be seeing 150+ games with any AL team.
yeah no doubt, if he hits at least 1 HR in 40 of those 150 and drives in at least 2 in 80 to 85 games (equaling 125-130 games). Sounds like Mike Trout production when he was just the lone offensive threat.
He’ll be staying in ATL. It looks like AA waited out the market hoping the price would drop as others signed.
Well, As the World series showed, we need a contact hitting machine in the middle of the line-up. Ozune is the best at that. It would shock us fans and show us Stu will spend on the MLB team at times….doubt it though, we’ll come just short of what Ozuna wants to sign.
The Rays starting pitching is much weaker with out Morton and Snell, Archer and Wacha do nothing to move the needle so scoring more runs will be important for them to continue to contend. However i don’t see them outbidding anyone, even on a one year contract.
A return to the Braves is possibe. Atlanta has to see its offense will be terrible without him as Freeman will be pitched around all season without a credible threat hitting behind him.
A reunion with the Cardinals would be a huge all-in move. They have one mostly free season of Arenado and were able to unload Fowler so this may be the best chance to go for it.
Man, I really wouldn’t care to see Ozuna on the Ray’s.
Good fit in St Louis now. With them unloading Fowler yesterday they’re probably not done adding.
I know it was mentioned as merely a very long shot, but Ozuna would be sweet in that Twins lineup.
Ozuna to the Rays makes the East a legit 3-team race. Yankees or Jays still have more upside, but I think the Rays have the highest floor.
According to Fangraphs, the Ray’s have 38 (!) pitchers in their system projected to be above average.
They have a bunch of position players I’ve never heard of that’ll put up 2+ WAR.
Ya know?
The Ray’s will win 90+ games.
Right now, I see two Wild Cards coming out of the AL East. This iteration of the Yanks is the weakest of the present core. Should be a good pennant race.
@Ducky – is one of those players Brosseau?
Lol @mlbfan –
No.
No, him I’ve heard of.
Rays lost their two best starters and had everything go right with their offense last year. And their reliever-based pitching theories won’t work as well in a full season. They as always have loads of pitching depth, but they’re probably taking a step back this year.
morton wasnt even good for the rays in the regular season and they still beat the yankees by like 8 games. I think theyre gonna be okay
Which is why I said that Ozuna to the Rays makes it a 3-team race. I agree that the losses of Snell and Morton sting, but as Ducky said, they’re *deep* in pitching and develop their pitchers exceptionally well. I’m not buying Arozarena’s breakout, but once some guys from their farm start coming up, they’ll be back in the thick of things. If that’s not this year, I expect it’ll be next year (if there is a season next year).
As for the Yankees being the weakest of the present core, I’d buy that, but I also see the reason for optimism that one of Taillon or Kluber will have a nice bounceback year. Not to their former levels, maybe, but solid. And it’s really been injuries that have dogged the Yankees. That lineup, when healthy, is up there with Chicago’s and now Toronto’s for the best in the AL.
yandy, I’d be curious to know how many of those victories against the Yankees were started by Morton or Snell. It will be interesting to see how Archer and Wacha do against the Yankees this year. My guess is not as well as Morton and Snell. But we’ll see. The Rays may be okay this year, as you say, but then again they may not. That’s why they play the games.
@hyrax –
Yeah, I think the Yanks can cobble together an average rotation. & there is some upside beyond Taillon & Kluber. Sevi returns midsummer. Montgomery has been solid. He didn’t look out of his depth in the postseason, either.
Garcia & Schmidt look promising.
Would like to see the Yanks add a guy like Brett Anderson. They could just simply use more big league innings. & maybe he won’t have blisters or a blown hammy in the playoffs & the Yanks could get a postseason start or two.
Should be a top 3 lineup still.
I’d like to see another arm or two added to the pen. That was a real strength of our squad from 17-19. But the loss of Betances was not addressed last winter, nor has the loss of Kahnle been dealt with this winter.
As of now, it looks like a 3 team dogfight to me.
“As of now, it looks like a 3 team dogfight to me.”
I agree with that assessment.
@morivera morton only threw 4 ip total vs the yankees. Blake threw 2 games, 1 of which he went 5 ip 3 er and the other he only threw 3 ip
yandy, good to know.
Ozuna doesn’t take a 1 yr deal again, not with that season he just had. I think the Braves are the only logical possibility, but the market is just so complicated without a Universal DH
I don’t see how any NL team can sign him long term to play outfield with dh uncertainty.
On the contrary, if an NL team signs him they’d have a strong incentive to make it multi rather than one year. A one year deal with an NL team that includes no years with the DH is the worst possible outcome.
Is there precedent for an escalator clause in a contract – that if universal DH is implemented – Ozuna would be compensated additionally?
Why would he be given additional money going to a spot where players generally make less? I know his glove is a negative, but that doesn’t mean he should be rewarded when he doesn’t have to use it anymore.
Call it a signing bonus, if you will.
They have a strong incentive if they are positive 2022 with bring a universal dh. He is a defensive liability in the outfield. Everyone seemed fairly certain the dh was coming back for 2021 and still hasn’t happened. I don’t think there are any guarantees for 2022. 3-4 year deal where you may be forced to play him in left 130+ games to get his bat into the lineup seems like a gamble. Teams like the cardinals and Braves would be blocking their best prospects and much better defenders. A one year deal makes sense anything more than that would seem like an AL deal at this point.
The CBA is up after next year
If they don’t implement a universal DH and Waters is ready you trade him to an AL team even if you have to eat some money as long as he is hitting someone would want & need him
I want Ozuna back in Atlanta, and I’m perfectly fine with him in LF. Gold Glove LF aren’t necessities.
This is crazy the NL teams have to wait and sit on their hands when they absolutely need some of these pieces to be competitive, especially in the playoffs. Bad look all around.
Well, if Heyman’s reporting it, you know it must be true. lol
Atlanta written all over it get it done AA ! The window of opportunity is now
The chances of Ozuna being a shell of his 2020 self now that he has to play a position and it’s a full season are extremely high. Buyer majorly beware, at least until the DH reappears in 2022, if there is a 2022 season.
Braves are not in if it’s for 2 or 4 years & the DH in NL is not settled.
Just bring back Duvall & wait to see how the trade market develops.
Hopefully solidify the bullpen a little more.
At the very least bring back Greene maybe Melancon maybe bring in Rosenthal but AA missed the boat on this one. No reason Freddie doesn’t have his extension & he definitely shoulda blew the Cards package for Arrenado. Basically $25 million a year for him and they were supposedly in on Springer & Realmuto
There is no excuse for not going hard after the Dodgers were on the ropes.
If Ozuna is willing to go 1 year you gotta blow the Rays offer out the box.
You’re overestimating their interest in free agents. Until they sign one, they’re Julia Roberts in a Beverly Hills boutique in Pretty Woman. AA putting on his Sunday’s Best to make it look like we interested when we know they expect us to dine-and-dash because we can’t afford the bill. I don’t know how AA missed the boat on Ozuna when he hasn’t signed.
Duvall is not the answer.
He is if the question is: “Who is his mother’s son?”
Well played sir
As a Cards fan and a baseball realist, there is no doubt in my mind that the Arenado trade is and will be a great success – home/road splits and all.
As we are all aware, the cornerstone for any well-built Cardinals team is pitching & defense. In the case of the former, I do have hopes, but without being a typical homer let me say that: it’s not enough.
That said, it makes sense and I’m hopeful that the Redbirds can grab Odo – if they can. As far as the new defensive (young) outfield situation -I’m not buying it, at least if the intention is making a serious playoff push.You guys are well versed in the analytics behind my worry for our outfield do there’s no need to regurgitate them.
So, what’s my point? While defensively the Cards outfield (and overall) could be otherworldly, I reserve the feeling of disbelief in the young talent holding down their responsibilities offensively (Though I am a Carlson hopeful). In fact, if anyone asked we, “yes but would you really give a defensive position for say, Ozuna’s offense,” I would simply say, “si senor.”
Furthermore, is anyone really sold on the Cards on base potential with the table setters ahead of Goldy & Arenado? Yeah, me neither.
I still strongly hold the opinion that the Redbirds are another big bat, one more SP arm, and lead off man away from being an unquestionable contender. For now, there’s too many unanswered questions imo.
I agree with most of your points. Although, I think Edman and DeJong, or whomever bats 2nd, is good enough to be effective. Would love to see another SP like Odi and another big bat.
Absolutely. Yeah I mean, I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’re going to see Edman somewhere at the top. They could possibly do an Edman – Carlson 1-2 switch hitting punch at the top followed by DeJong, but there lies my worry: extending the lineup. I still think we’re a bat short.
LETS GO BRAVES!!! GO GET HIM!!! SHOULD THE FANS YOU CARE!!!!
Show…. lord. Stupid autocorrect… which I could edit on the app. If y’all know how please let me know
Ozuna is not going back to STL.
And the Cardinals aren’t trading for Arenado. And the Cardinals will never find a taker for Fowler.
They didn’t find a taker for 15 million dollar Fowler they found a taker for 1.75 million dollar Fowler. Everyone in the mlb can be traded if you eat enough money, maybe not Chris Davis.
Maybe not Ender Inciarte.
I bet a bunch of teams would take 1 million dollar ender.
I don’t think anyone really trusts Ozuna on a multi-year deal. If I’m going multi-years with him, it’s a one year guarantee with vesting options.
There is no way the Cardinals will make a move for him. They are not going to sit a gold glove O’Neill, a future star Carlson, or a potential gold glove Bader, in order to play Ozuna. Yeah, his bat would be nice, but in the two years we had him, Ozuna was just TERRIBLE in the OF, only a slight improvement over Matt Holiday. It is hard to believe Ozuna ever won a gold glove in Miami. He looked like he had never even played the OF before.
@Timothy – Do you think they’ll utilize Edman as a super UT player or acquire a veteran OF before the deadline?
No, with Wong gone, Edman is now the every day 2B. He will not play any other position this year.
I agree with your comment for the most part. Ozuna was truly a liability with the Cards. However, I’m not entirely certain that shoulder of his was 100% while with the Cards. I think what we saw in his final playoff series vs the Braves is the guy he actually is. Still, that defense though.
But at the same time I would say that I have more trepidation in Bader’s approach at the plate than I do seeing Ozuna mash and use 2 cutoff guys LOL. Just saying that while having 2 gold gloves (1 potential in Bader, 1 in O’Neill), would be great, I have no interest in seeing 2 potential holes at the dish.
Personally, I’d rather see O’Neill patrol CF and take his hacks than endure Bader’s long swing for another year. Ozuna may not be the answer, but I’m not sold on the current OF – in terms of offensive production.
If we got Ozuna’s Atlanta bat, I would take that even with his terrible glove. But if Ozuna plays OF every game, his hitting will drop off significantly.
And I TOTALLY discount the numbers Ozuna put up in Atlanta last season. If he has to play the OF every game, he will revert to a .240 hitter with 28 HRs… O’Neill is going to give us that, or maybe even better. I look to this as O’Neill’s breakout year.
I can roll with that. I suppose my thing has nothing to do with my hopes in O’Neill & Carlson. It has more to do with my lack of confidence in Bader.
I don’t mind crossing my fingers once, maybe two times in a lineup. But imho, you have 3 OFs (Bader still seems young to me) and a new 2b all potentially playing a full season. My hands feel tied just thinking about that scenario.
I’m with you on Bader. He has not earned any more looks. If he doesn’t get his act together by the all-star break, I say leave Thomas in there. He couldn’t be worse.
It is interesting…even taking a look at the small sample size of 2020:
as LF: .275/.359/.852 (78 PA)
as DH: .362/.464/.1.155 (179 PA)
*about the same K-rate for both (~22-24%)
Seems like a contract with the Rays would be a three year deal, with a TEAM opt out after one year….ha!
Unpopular opinion here, but one team that should think about Ozuna’s services is Baltimore. Similar to what the Nats did with Jayson Werth, sign Ozuna to replace DJ Stewart and platoon him in LF/DH with Mancini. Then sign a Paxton or Walker and maybe Porcello.
O’s aren’t looking to contend in 2021 but they might make their move in 2022. They are also eying a move with Santander which means they might be looking for one OF. Add the influx of young bats coming up and they could be dangerous soon.
I think Baltimore, Seattle and Detroit should all be on ozuna. He’s a big bat that could help accelerate those rebuilds.
Baltimore was talkin bout deferring Santander & Mancini money you really think they are breaking open the bank for Ozuna ???
The Angelos kids are just waiting for their father to fall back and they will sell the team
Do I think they are breaking open the bank for Ozuna? Absolutely not. But I see you want to read your own typing. Not sure why.
I thought the word “should” was good enough to know they “will not” make a play for any impact player. They should. They won’t.
Imagime what STL looks like if he goes back…
Ozuna options with clubs. Jays no 4 outfielders and Telvz. Twins no Cruz Yankees have Staton and Red Sox have JD Astros have Yordan and A’s have Davis. Now Wsox could use Ozuna but only on 1yr deal with Vaughn being ready in 2021. Whatever AL clubs are out there ? So I think Ozuna come back to the braves and be on a 3yr deal in $56/60mill range
It will be disappointing if the Braves do nothing more to keep up with the Mets and Dodgers.
He—and many others—can thank the MLBPA for his suppressed value. Universal DH would open up the possibility for many more players to make more money and would open up more opportunities for guys to play longer. But no, they want to hold out so they can keep some leverage for the future CBA negotiations. Maybe it’s a good tactic in the long run, but it’s just odd to me how the very things they fight for (better pay, more jobs, etc) are the very things that are compromised in this situation. Maybe there’s more to it than that?
All of the AL teams playing the season for the privilege of meeting the Dodgers in the World Series?
COME ON, METS!