Marcell Ozuna replacements Braves can target via trade or free agency

1. Joey Gallo, Texas Rangers

After a rough 2020 at the plate (.181, 10 home runs, .679 OPS). Gallo is off to a slow start at the plate this year (.215/.369/.4384 slash-line, a major league-high 73 strikeouts). He is walking plenty (18.2 percent, 98th percentile according to Statcast), but he continues to swing and miss a lot. When he does make contact, his average exit velocity (85th percentile) and barrel rates (92nd percentile) are good.

A bright spot for Gallo in 2020 was his defense. He earned his first Gold Glove for his work in right field, as he settled into one outfield spot.

Despite his early struggles, Gallo is a top trade target for contenders.

Since Jon Heyman’s report 13 days ago, counting that night’s game, the Rangers are 4-8 with five straight loses entering Sunday. So Gallo is trending toward being very available, with one more year of team control left after this year. He also has a five-game hitting streak heading into Sunday, he’s starting to get it going. Gallo hit 41 home runs in 2017, 40 in 2018 and 22 over 70 games in 2019–which was good for a 46 home run pace per-162 games over those three seasons. So if he’s getting on the right track, he’s clearly a dangerous hitter.

Before the Braves re-signed Ozuna, Gallo surfaced as a possible trade target for them. There will be competition (the Yankees stand out), but the idea of Gallo to Atlanta is sure to come back in the wake of Ozuna’s troubling situation.