3 Braves players who’ll be better in 2023, and 2 who won’t
By Tim Boyle
Why Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna will not have a better year in 2023
The Marcell Ozuna misery will continue into the 2023 season. Is there no end in sight?
After the awesome season Ozuna gave the Braves in 2020 when he led the league in home runs and RBI, things have gone downhill. Both on the field and off it, Ozuna has been playing his way out of Atlanta.
The numbers were only a little better last season than they were in 2021 when he appeared in just 48 games. Ozuna is coming off of a 2022 campaign where he did hit 23 bombs but failed to do much else. His .226/.274/.413 slash line suggests he’s more of a bench player at this point. Eddie Rosario is gunning for those starts in left field over him. All that may be left for Ozuna is to become a specialty bat who starts as the DH versus lefties.
The Braves have no real need for Ozuna, particularly with his defensive metrics rating so poorly. The presence of Sean Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud on the roster together probably means one of them will get regular at-bats as the DH. Where does this leave Ozuna?
It’s the guaranteed money owed to Ozuna over the next two seasons which has kept him in Atlanta. There is an $18 million per year payday coming his way in each of the next two seasons. Maybe if things go downhill further in 2023 the Braves finally make the baseball decision and cut bait.