Atlanta Braves fans disgusted with Marcell Ozuna’s ongoing offensive failings: "His average could pass a breathalyzer"
Atlanta Braves fans will rejoice Tuesday as eternally-slumping slugger Marcell Ozuna is not in the team's lineup for the second game of a series against the Miami Marlins.
Ozuna, whose manager Brian Snitker has steadfastly stood by this season as his average has remained well below .100, is reportedly in danger of losing his roster spot soon despite being midway through a four-year, $65 million contract.
Marcell Ozuna this season
63 PA
.073 AVG
.190 OBP
.200 SLG
10 wRC+
-0.7 fWAR https://t.co/YXbe5xeYxX
MLB.com's Mark Bowman reported that Marcell Ozuna may be dropped from the 26-man roster when center fielder Michael Harris II and/or catcher/designated hitter Travis d'Arnaud returns from the injured list.
The 11-year MLB veteran is the least favorite player in recent Braves history. He is roundly booed at Truist Park and mocked online daily. It doesn't help his image that he's just a year removed from a 2022 DUI and domestic violence arrest.
@StoolBaseball Only thing bro can hit is his wife
@StoolBaseball He’s a better person than he is a ball player
@StoolBaseball Couldn’t happen to a better guy. 😂
Marcell Ozuna hit .315 with an .854 OPS and seven extra-base hits in spring training, but has been an anchor in the lineup of the Braves lineup since the games started counting. He has two home runs to pair with 13 strikeouts through 12 games.
Braves manager Brian Snitker baffled Atlantans earlier this month by defending Ozuna and saying that the team will stick with him through what was termed a "slump."
@StoolBaseball His average could pass a breathalyzer
@StoolBaseball Nerds say to keep playing him. His swing and misses are fast⚾️
@StoolBaseball He probably couldn’t hit someone crossing the street with his car
Snitker told reporters back when Ozuna's average was .083 – 20 points higher than the .063 it was after he went 0-for-4 against the Marlins on Monday night:
"He's just going to have to keep fighting through it. He's going to get some opportunities, because it's there right now, especially with Travis (d'Arnaud) being down. So, we'll see. ... I just hope he's going to get it going. I saw it this spring in glimpses."
D'Arnaud was hitting .333 with five RBIs when he went on MLB's 7-day concussion list April 9 after being injured on a collision at the plate in a game against the San Diego Padres. The 34-year-old slugger caught a "side session" over the weekend and reportedly felt good afterward. The Braves are looking to ramp up his activity in the coming days.
@StoolBaseball Imagine how much better the Braves will be when he is inevitably DFA’d
@StoolBaseball Better at hitting females than baseballs
@StoolBaseball Are Braves fans going to try to vote him into the ASG like they did last year?
However, Marcell Ozuna, a .267 career hitter, has not topped .226 in a season since signing what has become an onerous deal with the Atlanta Braves following the 2020 season. Despite what's going on three years of scant production, Snitker has apparently not lost faith in the hulking 32-year-old Dominican, telling reporters:
"If he gets it going, he can be a force, so we’ll try and keep working him in there and hopefully he does."
@StoolBaseball That 2020 season was so fake man
It's been a long, long, long slump for Marcell Ozuna
Marcell Ozuna initially came to the Braves as a free agent, signing a one-year, $18 million contract with the team in 2020 after two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. He logged a National League-leading 18 home runs and 56 RBIs in that pandemic-shortened season, leading the Braves to sign him long term.
Ozuna has not approached his 2020 level of production since that 60-game stretch.