The Detroit Tigers have gone ice cold since early summer, and their middling trade deadline additions haven't given them the jolt they're looking for. Their president of baseball operations, Scott Harris, tried splitting the baby, making marginal upgrades, yet hanging onto their top prospects. However, he failed to address the team's prolonged hitting struggles, which have continued to plague them.
Fortunately for Harris and the Tigers, the July 31 cutoff point isn't the last chance to bolster their lineup; Aug. 31 is. Many of the MLB's bottom feeders try to cut costs by putting veterans who don't factor into the long-term picture on waivers. Detroit can be among the contenders to benefit from this, with Atlanta Braves veteran slugger Marcell Ozuna presenting an ideal opportunity they must pounce on.
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Tigers can't let Marcell Ozuna pass them by if Braves waive veteran slugger
Ozuna is slashing .240/.369/.427 with 19 home runs, 56 RBIs and a solid .796 OPS across 363 at-bats this year. His elite 16.8 percent walk rate is by far a career-best and trails only New York Mets star Juan Soto. Braves manager Brian Snitker has recently begun to slowly phase him out of the day-to-day equation in favor of rookie catcher Drake Baldwin's continued development.
Detroit boasts the highest strikeout rate (25 percent) and has scored the 10th-fewest runs (103) in the majors since July 9, per FanGraphs. That won't cut it if they're going to deliver on being the betting favorites to win the American League pennant. As a three-time All-Star, Ozuna gives them a proven, patient power hitter with valuable playoff experience.
Braves have no reason to hang onto Marcell Ozuna
Given Atlanta's rest-of-season outlook, hanging onto Ozuna feels silly, considering he turns 35 in November and is slated for unrestricted free agency. Why not get ahead of the curve and shed some funds? With their postseason hopes effectively shattered, Atlanta is waving the white flag with both eyes toward the future, which should be music to Harris' ears.
Barring a dramatic turn of events, the Braves have nothing to gain from keeping him around and only things to lose: money and time. Deploying Ozuna will come at Baldwin's expense, and they'll have to pay for that decision, literally and figuratively.