Marcell Ozuna's fate was another Braves masterclass thanks to Alex Anthopoulos

As it turns out, Alex Anthopoulos’ biggest folly building the Atlanta Braves wasn’t even one. In fact, it has proven to be quite the investment for the Atlanta general manager. Ozuna first came to the Braves in 2020, and had one helluva season during COVID. He led the NL with 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in, earning a Silver Slugger at DH and a sixth-place MVP finish. Then, he got the contract.

Ozuna signed a four-year deal worth $65 million late into the 2021 MLB offseason. Fresh off one of the best seasons of his career, Ozuna followed up the 2020 campaign with back-to-back years of sub-.300 OBP. Ozuna had suffered an injury in 2021, as well as a myriad of off-field issues over the next two years. He became persona non grata in Atlanta, one bad series from being outright released.

Then it all changed for the better for him in early May 2023 when he took an offering the opposite way in Miami. Ozuna had a bounce-back season last year with a career-high 40 home runs and 100 runs batted in. After a slow start last year, Ozuna has been hotter than the freaking sun in his first 14 games this season. He already has seven home runs and 21 runs batted in, slashing .373/.413/.780.

In a move that was still much-maligned this time a year ago, Anthopoulos got the last laugh yet again.

Ozuna has a club option for 2025 for $16 million, an option the Braves will gladly accept next winter.

Marcell Ozuna’s hot start only reaffirms Alex Anthopoulos’ belief in him

There is a reason why Anthopoulos is the best general manager in baseball. He is consistent, almost to a fault. He operates in silence, as nothing leaks out of the Braves’ front office unless he wants it to. While he will gladly extend homegrown players far before they reach arbitration, he will not pay a premium for a player hitting free agency. Ozuna was an exception to that after the 2020 MLB season.

For a while there, Anthopoulos got burned because he seemed to have paid Ozuna for what he did, rather than what he was going to do for the Braves. The lack of production at the plate in 2021 and 2022 for Ozuna may have played a part in Anthopoulos not going all-in on Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson in their free agencies. That is still the only downside to the Ozuna contract in this.

While Freeman and Swanson are thriving playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs respectively, it is not like their replacements have been total scrubs either. Matt Olson broke Braves franchise records for home runs and runs batted in last season. Orlando Arcia had his best season as a professional last year as the Braves’ full-time shortstop, the NL All-Star game starter over Swanson.

Overall, we are seeing a former All-Star outfielder with Miami fully complete his career rennaissance in Atlanta as arguably the most feared DH in baseball. His career was hanging in the balances, his personal life in shambles. Ozuna is far from a perfect person, but he seems to be having the time of his life hitting in the heart of the Atlanta lineup. His teammates have his back and he has theirs as well.

Anthopoulos may not win every deal he makes, but we can safely say the Ozuna contract worked out.

This article was originally published on fansided.com as Marcell Ozuna’s fate was another Braves masterclass thanks to Alex Anthopoulos.