ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves bring Marcell Ozuna back, signing the slugger on a $ 64 million four-year deal.
The Braves announced on Friday night the home run of the NL 2020 and the RBI leader, less than two weeks before the players and captains are ready to show up for spring training. The contract includes a club option in the fifth year for $ 16 million, which would lead to $ 80 million, with a purchase of $ 1 million, which would produce Ozuna $ 65 million in guaranteed money.
Ozuna took his bet after the 2019 season, turning down a $ 17.8 million qualifying offer from St. Louis. Louis Cardinals and signed a $ 18 million one-year deal with the Braves in late January. The move paid off, as the slugger finished sixth in the National League MVP vote after leading the league with 18 home runs, 56 RBIs and 145 total bases. He was third in the NL with an average of 333 beats and a slugging percentage of 0.636.
The bet? The Cardinals’ $ 17.8 million qualification offer would have accounted for 41% of his career earnings so far.
Although considered somewhat of a defensive liability after suffering a shoulder injury in 2018, Ozuna, who turned 30 in November, saw action on the left field for the Braves while playing all 60 games during shortened pandemic season. However, most of his bats for Atlanta came as the team’s designated striker, followed by MVP Freddie Freeman in line, while the Braves won the NL East title after securing some of the best offensive numbers in team history. .
Prior to joining the Braves, Ozuna spent two seasons with the Cardinals, protecting Paul Goldschmidt in the lineup, as they returned to the playoffs in 2019. In the last five seasons, including the 60-game season by 2020, Ozuna has reached 130 home runs, making two All-Star games on the power of his bat.
Since the start of the 2017 season, Ozuna has 357 RBIs, second only to Nolan Arenado (384) in the Rockies and just ahead of Freeman (343) among National League players, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
In eight MLB seasons, he has a .276 batting average with 166 home runs, 594 RBI and 505 marked runs for the Marlins, Cardinals and Braves.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.