It took a few months too long, but the Pittsburgh Pirates finally designated Marcell Ozuna for assignment, meaning he will likely be released from the team. The Pirates signed Ozuna just before spring training as their full-time DH for $12 million. That money wasn't well-spent. Somehow, someway, the Braves got away with it again.
Atlanta's front office knew Ozuna better than most. They held onto him despite multiple off-field scandals, including domestic violence and DUI arrests. For all of the headaches he caused off the diamond, Ozuna was the most powerful hitter in the Braves lineup in 2023 and 2024, when he hit 40 and 39 home runs, respectively. Ozuna's fall-off started shortly thereafter, and despite hitting 21 home runs in 145 games last season, the writing was on the wall. Alex Anthopoulos let Ozuna walk, and it was once again the right decision. He hasn't been the same since.
How the Braves knew Marcell Ozuna's career was basically over
The signs were there, if Ben Cherington and his staff cared to pay attention. It doesn't take an advanced statistician to know that if a player's barrel rate is decreasing, odds are his swing needs retooled or he's struggling to catch up to the pitches he used to hit out of the ballpark with regularity. In 2025, Ozuna managed just 40 barrels, down from 68 and 66 the two seasons prior. His average exit velocity dropped three full MPH to 89. Pitches found the sweet spot of Ozuna's bat just 35 percent of the time, down five percentage points from his 2024 peak. Ozuna's hard hit rate dropped to 44.6 percent, one of the lowest marks of his career, signaling a downward trajectory.
Marcell Ozuna Highlights (2026) pic.twitter.com/gL99R52LmS
— Jim Rosati 🏴☠️ (@northsiden0tch) August 5, 2026
I could go on, and on, and on. The Braves didn't ignore these numbers, but instead chose to act on them even if it meant losing a big bat in their lineup. While few organizations could've seen this sort of dropoff coming — and 2026 has been a miserable season for Ozuna — Atlanta was right not to sign him to a multiyear deal, and eventually moved forward with a new plan. This season, Ozuna's wOBA, which measures his offensive value per plate appearance, is in the bottom five percent of all of baseball.
Season | wOBA | OPS |
|---|---|---|
2023 | .381 | .905 |
2024 | .395 | .925 |
2025 | .334 | .756 |
2026 | .275 | .612 |
The Braves knew, and the Pirates didn't. It really is that simple. Good organizations, especially those who familiarize themselves with a player over the course of six seasons, see wear and tear before the rest of us. Better organizations can recognize that from afar. Bad front offices spend $12 million on the player other teams were avoiding.
Where does Marcell Ozuna go from here? Not the Braves
The bad news for Ozuna is that the cat is out of the bag. All 30 MLB teams know that he cannot be relied upon as an everyday player. His lone positive trait heading into the season was hitting, which is why he served as the Pirates DH. His walk rate reached a career best in 2025, so the prevailing thought was that even if Ozuna's power dwindled, at least he'd reach base at a consistent clip. I have bad news on that front, too! Ozuna's walk rate in 2026 is just 9.6 percent, his lowest since 2022.
There is always a chance that a fresh start and new coaching staff could help Ozuna revive some of his former power. The issue with that hypothesis, though, is that the Pirates have a top-5 offense in all of baseball thanks in large part to their coaching staff. Ozuna was the one outlier, and now he's out in the cold.
Ozuna is too accomplished to not receive a second chance somewhere. It should not be on a contender, and certainly not in Atlanta barring an unexpected injury. Dom Smith won't blow anyone away, but his OPS is a full 100 points higher than Ozuna's this season. Anthopoulos should steer clear, but he likely already knows that.
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