3 teams the Braves could unload Marcell Ozuna to
By Tim Boyle
2. Why the Braves could trade Marcell Ozuna to the Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t been contenders in recent years nor should we expect them to do a whole lot in 2023. However, they did bring in Ji-Man Choi and Carlos Santana this offseason. Along with everyone’s favorite trade candidate Bryan Reynolds plus the young budding stars Oneil Cruz and Ke’Bryan Hayes, it looks like the Pirates could be heading places.
Pittsburgh could be a much better team than anticipated. Trading for Ozuna would probably mean seeing a lot of him in left field where they currently have Jack Suwinski lined up to plate. It’s not going to push the Pirates over the top, but they could get a decent prospect back from the Braves in the trade.
A starting pitcher is what the Pirates should aim for in this deal. The number one Braves prospect, Jared Shuster, is close to MLB-ready yet probably not on the table. Owen Murphy, JR Ritchie, and Cole Phillips who were all drafted in the first or second round last year are many years away yet far more attainable for the Pirates.
Pittsburgh is not acquiring Ozuna to win now or through the end of his contract. Eating some money now can, however, reward them with some help down the line.
Frankly, any pitcher the Pirates can add into their pipeline would make this trade worth it. The hard part is convincing ownership to make it happen.