Outfielder Marcell Ozuna and the Atlanta Braves have agreed to a four-year $ 64 million deal, the team announced in a statement Friday.
The contract includes a fifth-year option for the club that would increase profits to 80 million, 65 million guaranteed money, the team said.
Ozuna bet on himself after the 2019 season, turning down a $ 17.8 million bid from the St. Louis Cardinals by signing a one-year $ 18 million deal with the Braves in late January. The move paid off, as the slugger finished sixth in the National League MVP-voting after leading the league with 18 home runs, 56 RBI’s and 145 total bases. He finished third in the National League with a .338 batting average and a .636 slugging percentage, the best of his career.
The bet? The Cardinals’ qualifying offer of $ 17.8 million would have represented 41 percent of his career earnings to date.
While a 2018 shoulder injury is considered a risk, Ozuna, who turns 30 in November, saw some leftfield action with the Braves on last season’s shortened 60-game schedule due to the pandemic. However, most of his at-bats with Atlanta took place as the team’s designated hitter.
Before joining the Braves, Ozuna spent two seasons with the Cardinals and protected Paul Goldschmidt in the lineup when they returned to the playoffs in 2019. In the past five seasons, including 2020, Ozuna has hit 130 home runs and two calls to All-Star. Play with the power of your bat.
Since the start of the 2017 season, Ozuna has 357 RBIs, second only to Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (384) and to Freeman (343) among National League players, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
In eight seasons in MLB, he has a .276 batting average, with 166 home runs, 594 RBI’s and 505 scored with the Marlins, Cardinals and Braves.