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Report: Marlins taking offers on Marcell Ozuna after falling out of favor with Jeffrey Loria

By Matt Whitener

Sep 29, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Miami Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna (13) works out prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 29, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Miami Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna (13) works out prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Could Marcell Ozuna be on his way out of Miami?

In the latest case of “As The Marlins Turn,” it is being reported that center fielder Marcell Ozuna is being shopped due to falling out of favor with Miami Marlins Jeffery Loria.

According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, multiple teams are inquiring on the 25-year-old centerfielder’s price tag, because Loria has decided that he no longer is interested in having him as a part of the organization for undisclosed personal reasons.

This outcome provides some more “reasonable” explanation for why he spent such a long stint demoted to the minors last season. Coming in on the heels of a 2014 breakout year where he hit 23 home runs and drove in 85 runs, Ozuna got off to a slower than expected start this past season, managing only four home runs and a .249 average in the first half before being demoted to the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs.

While the stint seemed to be to allow him to work out some kinks in his swing, it lasted much longer than anticipated, eventually reaching 33 games. During this time, a stretch that the outfielder infamously compared to ‘being in jail’, Ozuna proved that he’d gotten over the hump, hitting minor league pitching to the tune of a .311 average with five home runs and 12 doubles during his month-long stint. Eventually he returned to the Marlins, where he had a more productive second half line of a .278 average and six home runs over 44 games.

Ozuna had been benched earlier in the season as well for being late to a game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The relationship between Loria and Ozuna even played a part in putting final touches on the end of Dan Jennings’ tenure in Miami, after the manager played Ozuna against Loria’s wishes upon his return to Miami.

Regardless of this, it is now clear why he was lost in the shuffle for so long, as he had earned the ire of Loria along the way. Now he stands to be the most recent Marlin whom could come underneath the sickle of the Marlins owner’s infamously short tolerance. And there should be no shortage of teams interested in pursuing the young power hitter, especially since it is known that the Marlins are doing whatever possible to satisfy the urge of their boss.

Lest they too find themselves underneath his guillotine as well.

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