Red Sox Could Make Splash By Trading For All-Star Slugger
As the trade deadline approaches, buyers and sellers begin to separate themselves from the pack. While the picture hasn’t become fully clear just yet, the fog clears a little more with each passing day.
One surprise seller at this year’s deadline could be the Atlanta Braves. They’re currently 35-41, 11 games back in the National League East, and seven games back in the National League Wild Card hunt. They just lost starting pitcher Chris Sale to injury, so their hopes of rejoining the playoff chase have dampened.
All of this combined makes them great trade partners for the Boston Red Sox.
Marcell Ozuna is in the final year of his contract and could be one of the top names on the market in late July. The righty is a power hitter, and the Red Sox could use some thump in their lineup to fill the void left by Rafael Devers.
The righty hit 39 home runs last season for Atlanta. This season he’s slowed down a bit, but even a down year he has a 122 OPS+. His walk rate has also exploded to 16.6%, an indicator that opponents may be hesitant to pitch to him.
Ozuna has also been excellent in Fenway Park. He’s hit .277 with seven home runs in 13 games in Boston. The only stadium where Ozuna has a higher career OPS than Fenway is Monterrey Stadium in Mexico, where he played two games in 2019.
Ozuna hasn’t played the outfield regularly since 2022 and would likely assume the role of full-time designated hitter. His splits are minimal, so a platoon wouldn’t be necessary.
The return of Masataka Yoshida could complicate things, as rostering two players who can’t play the field is difficult to accommodate.
Ozuna is pulling the ball in the air less this season than he has previously, but 10 of his 11 home runs came on the pull side. If he joins the Red Sox and pulls the ball more often, he could see home runs sail over the Green Monster for the second half of the season.