The Atlanta Braves just lost their rubber match against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, falling 3-1 to drop to 27-31 on the year. There's no shame in getting shut down by Garrett Crochet as they did on Sunday, but their offense continues to be a major cause for concern. It's so concerning, in fact, that they're willing to take a huge risk involving Marcell Ozuna to try and score enough runs.
“I’ve been kind of slow because I don’t want to rotate, because my hip is kind of shut down a little bit,” Ozuna said. “I had a tear (in the) right hip, so I just … keep battling. I’m trying to help my team. That’s the most important thing. I want to be in the lineup every single day, and do everything for my team.”
Ozuna made it clear after Sunday's game to David O'Brien of The Athletic ($) that he's been dealing with a tear in his right hip for weeks, causing him to not rotate fully when he swings. He's been playing through it, and even homered on Sunday for Atlanta's only run, but he's clearly compromised to an extent.
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Marcell Ozuna revelation shows Braves are in deep trouble
Ozuna playing through what sounds like a pretty serious hip injury shows just how dire things are in Atlanta right now. Chances are, if this team were scoring runs and/or finding ways to win games, they'd give Ozuna a couple of weeks at least to rest and let his hip heal. The reality of the situation, though, is that the Braves can ill afford to give Ozuna any time off.
The Braves are currently 9.5 games back of the NL East-leading New York Mets and are 4.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the NL. Obviously, there's enough time for the Braves to make up ground and appear in the postseason, but how likely is it that they go on a run when they're just 20th in the majors in runs scored and have their best offensive player right now miss time?
This Braves team has a hard enough time scoring with Ozuna in the lineup. It'd only be tougher for Atlanta to score without Ozuna, even if he's playing at less than 100 percent health. They risk Ozuna suffering a major injury by keeping him in the lineup, but they also can't afford to take him out while they face a sizable deficit in the postseason race. Again, Atlanta is in a tough spot.
Braves can manage Marcell Ozuna more cautiously than they have been
No, the Braves can't afford to have Ozuna land on the IL and sit out for weeks, if not longer, before this hip injury is completely past him. They can, however, act as if he's playing hurt and not run him into the ground.
Ozuna has appeared in 55 of Atlanta's 58 games, playing virtually every single day. Can they not find ways to give him more time off? I mean, both Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy have played well enough to earn more at-bats, but they both play the same position. Why not use one of them behind the plate and the other at DH while giving Ozuna more off-days?
Resting Ozuna more might not heal his injury entirely, but it might improve his odds of avoiding hurting himself further, while also simultaneously opening up more at-bats for Murphy and Baldwin. That feels like a no-brainer.
Marcell Ozuna deserves his flowers for what he's doing
It's one thing to play through an injury, it's another to play well. Ozuna, despite the hip issue, homered on Sunday, and is having another outstanding year for Atlanta.
The 34-year-old is slashing .284/.427/.474 with 10 home runs and 25 RBI in 55 games played. He might not be hitting for quite as much power as he has in the last couple of years, but he's getting on base at an absurd clip and is leading the majors in walks. His hip injury is clearly impacting his ability to record extra-base hits with any sort of consistency (he had none in his previous eight games prior to Sunday's home run), but it isn't stopping him from making an impact.
Many players are to blame for Atlanta's sluggish season thus far, but Ozuna and his .901 OPS while playing at less than 100 percent is far from the team's biggest issue. He deserves a ton of credit for what he's been able to do for this Braves team, in need of any sort of offensive spark.