The Atlanta Braves exercised designated hitter Marcell Ozuna's $16 million club option for the 2025 season on Monday. It was a no-brainer decision for the Braves after Ozuna was once again one of the best all-around hitters in the game in 2024. The 33-year-old veteran Dominican slugger helped carry Atlanta's offense this year with Ronald Acuna Jr. (knee) suffering a season-ending torn ACL. Ozuna made the All-Star team for the third time in his career and finished his fifth year with the Braves with an impressive .302/.378/.546 slash line, .925 OPS, 39 home runs, 104 RBI, one steal and career-high 96 runs scored in a league-high 162 games played. He's recorded a whopping 79 home runs and 204 RBI the last two seasons, but his loss of outfield eligibility makes him a bit more volatile for fantasy managers heading into 2025.
Atlanta Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said that the team is planning to exercise their club option for the 2025 season on outfielder/designated hitter Marcell Ozuna for $16 million. It's a no-brainer decision after Ozuna made the All-Star team for the third time in his career in 2024 by hitting .302/.378/.546 with a .925 OPS, 39 home runs, 104 RBI and 96 runs scored in 688 plate appearances over a full 162-game season. It was the first time that Ozuna played in all 162 games in his career, and he's now clubbed 79 home runs and driven in 204 runs in 306 games for the Braves the last two regular seasons while slashing .289/.364/.552 with a .916 OPS. The 33-year-old was helped health-wise by the fact that he played all 162 of his games as the team's DH. Ozuna tried to pick up the slack as best he could offensively with Ronald Acuna Jr. (knee) and Austin Riley (hand) suffering injuries this year.
Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna went 3-for-4 in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Reds, collecting his 38th home run of the season, smacking two doubles, driving in two, and scoring twice as well. The home run ended a remarkable 26-game homerless drought for the 33-year-old. Even still, the veteran slugger has put together a strong season for the Braves, posting a .306-38-100-92-0 line. The final month of the season has been the most productive for the 3x All-Star throughout his career, slashing .294/.364/.522 during that time, so he may be heating back up again at just the right time for fantasy managers navigating the fantasy playoffs.
Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna continued to provide elite power in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Phillies. Ozuna went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk, and two strikeouts. The 33-year-old clobbered a fifth-inning Zack Wheeler fastball 432 feet to straight-away center to put the Braves up by one. Ozuna has once again been a top fantasy contributor, slashing .309/.382/.597 with 37 HR, 80 runs scored, and 94 RBI in 531 plate appearances. Only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani have more HR than Ozuna, proving that he is still an elite source of power for fantasy managers.
Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna went a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run and a walk in Saturday's 11-3 win over the Angels. The 33-year-old also drove in three runs and scored three times in a productive day at the plate. It was his second consecutive three-hit game and the home run was his 35th of the season, just two behind Shohei Ohtani for the N.L. lead. Now with 90 RBI, the veteran is the N.L. league leader in that category. The 3x All-Star is slashing .307/.379/.590 on the year with a .409 wOBA and 164 wRC+.
Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna went 1-for-4 in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Rockies, belting his 34th home run of the season, and has now homered in back-to-back games. The blast temporarily tied him for the N.L. lead until Shohei Ohtani hit his 35th later on in the night. Still, Ozuna sits alone atop the N.L. as the RBI leader with 89. The 33-year-old is having a phenomenal encore to his robust 2023 campaign, now slashing .298/.372/.585 with a .404 wOBA and 161 wRC+.
In the second game of a doubleheader Saturday, Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna slammed two home runs in a 9-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The veteran slugger took St. Louis starter Sonny Gray deep in the fourth and sixth innings, his 27th and 28th of the year. Ozuna is now hitting .305 with the 28 home runs, 79 RBI, and 60 runs scored. He is making a serious run at the National League Most Valuable Player award with this consistently high production.
Atlanta Braves DH Marcell Ozuna had a big night in his team's 6-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday. Ozuna went 2-for-4 with two solo homers to power his team to the win. Ozuna's first homer tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth inning. He then later came back and added an insurance run in the ninth with a monster shot that traveled 422 feet with an exit velocity of 108.1 MPH. Ozuna is putting together an excellent year, batting .301 with 26 homers, 57 runs, and 77 RBI over 346 at-bats. The veteran slugger will be making his first appearance in MLB's Home Run Derby on Monday.
Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Phillies, recording two RBI and a run scored. It was the second consecutive game with a home run for the 33-year-old and was his 23rd of the season. The 2x All-Star has picked up right where he left off last season, continuing his offensive barrage with a. 298-23-72-51-0 line in 2024 to go with a .405 wOBA and 164 wRC+.
Atlanta Braves DH Marcell Ozuna had a big night in a 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. Ozuna went 3-for-5 with a homer, two runs, and two RBI to help power Atlanta to the win. The veteran's two-run homer off Ryan Pepiot came in the fifth inning and traveled 423 feet with an exit velocity of 105.8 MPH. Ozuna is having an excellent season for the Braves, hitting .327 with 20 homers, 43 runs, and 62 RBI across 254 at-bats. The 33-year-old should be locked into fantasy lineups as he has been red-hot at the plate of late, hitting .414 with two homers and seven RBI over his past seven contests.
Marcell Ozuna
• DH
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Braves
