Fansided

Breaking down potential landing spots for Marcell Ozuna

By Joshua Sadlock

ST. LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 12: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after striking out swinging during the first inning of Game 2 of the NLCS between the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Saturday, October 12, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 12: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after striking out swinging during the first inning of Game 2 of the NLCS between the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Saturday, October 12, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – JUNE 09: Ketel Marte #4 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates their victory with Eduardo Escobar #5 during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 9, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – JUNE 09: Ketel Marte #4 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates their victory with Eduardo Escobar #5 during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 9, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

4. Arizona Diamondbacks

A free agent like Marcell Ozuna will always have one or two surprise teams emerge to enter the bidding. That’s the nature of free agency for players like Ozuna, who fall somewhere in between elite free agent and bargain-bin reclamation project. The 29-year-old is no longer the MVP candidate, Gold Glover and Silver Slugger of the first few years of his career, but has done enough to warrant consideration for a moderately pricey multi-year deal.

The Diamondbacks have been linked to Ozuna and have a spot open in one of their corner outfield positions, with veteran Adam Jones heading back out onto the open market after his one-year deal expired at the end of the 2019 season. Arizona was a surprise contender last year and hung around right until the final weeks of September before finishing four games back at 85-77. The Diamondbacks were able to shed Zack Greinke’s massive salary and begin rebuilding their roster without blowing everything up completely.

A series of shrewd acquisitions allowed the Diamondbacks to begin rebuilding without suffering through a string of 100-loss seasons. Their farm system has improved to the point where it now makes sense to begin spending on free agents again. Their payroll is projected at just barely over $100 million next season. They’ll have more than enough cash to sign Ozuna to a mid-range deal.

Ketel Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Christian Walker give the Diamondbacks a strong core, while Nick Ahmed and David Peralta are solid complimentary players. Arizona can afford to take a risk on Ozuna getting healthy enough to return to MVP levels. If he does that, the Diamondbacks could pull off an even bigger surprise in 2020 and claim a playoff spot.

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