What the Atlanta Braves plan to do with Marcell Ozuna is going to again be one of the main storylines for their offseason. The Braves have gotten very little from Ozuna on the field since he signed a big four-year extension prior to the start of the 2021 season. Off the field, it has been an even worse situation and it has left a lot of people wondering why he is still on the roster.
Apparently, the Braves did try to move Ozuna at the trade deadline. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported in his weekly newsletter that Atlanta proposed a deal with the Nationals that would have swapped Ozuna for left-hander Patrick Corbin.
The Braves unsuccessfully tried to trade Marcell Ozuna to the Nationals in exchange for left-handed pitcher Patrick Corbin before the Trade Deadline. If Atlanta doesn’t find a suitable bad-contract swap, it could keep Ozuna or eat the $37 million still owed to him over the next two seasons.
Ozuna has two more seasons remaining on his current deal and has a $1 million dollar buy out on a club option for a third season. The Braves still owe him $37 million. Corbin has two seasons remaining on the big six-year, $140 million that he signed prior to the 2019 season and is still owed around $59 million. There is no detail on why the proposal ultimately fell through, but maybe Atlanta wanted Washington to pay down some of Corbin’s deal or they simply weren’t interested in Ozuna.
Since signing the extension, Ozuna has hit .222/.278/.397 with 30 home runs and an 84 wRC+ in 715 plate appearances. He has been worth -0.9 fWAR during that span. Corbin helped the Nationals win a World Series in 2019. Since then he has a 5.82 ERA and a 4.97 FIP in 390 innings.
