The Miami Marlins continue to push outfielder Marcell Ozuna on teams for a potential trade, with a market reportedly starting to develop.
Continue for updates.
Rangers Inquire on Ozuna
Wednesday, Jan. 6
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Texas Rangers were one of the teams to inquire, but Miami’s “asking price remains high, and any deal may be a long shot.”
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reported that Chi Chi Gonzalez and another piece could be involved.
Passan: Ozuna Market Developing
Wednesday, Jan. 6
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported that the market for Ozuna is “moving fast” with “multiple teams” in talks with the Marlins.
Ozuna Commanding High Price
The Marlins have been exploring trade options involving Ozuna virtually all offseason with no success. Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reported in November the Marlins were taking “a lot of calls” about the 25-year-old.
One reason for the lack of movement with Ozuna thus far, as Passan noted, is what the Marlins are asking for. During the initial discussions in December, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reported the team wanted pitchers like the Seattle Mariners’ Taijuan Walker, the Cleveland Indians’ Danny Salazar or the Kansas City Royals’ Yordano Ventura in return.
While it’s unclear at this point if the Marlins have lowered their demands from those steep prices, teams are right to be reluctant about parting with cost-controlled starting pitching.
It also doesn’t help Miami’s leverage in negotiations that Crasnick reported in a separate tweet from last November that one executive said Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria “can’t stand” Ozuna and “everybody knows it.”
Ozuna is coming off of a bad 2015 season in which he hit .259/.308/.383 with 10 homers in 123 games. His .311 career on-base percentage in 1,299 at-bats is not particularly encouraging, though his 23 homers in 2014 was an encouraging sign before falling off last year.
The Marlins are valuing Ozuna like he’s a budding star when his actual performance has been more erratic than anything else, though they do appear to be getting closer to a deal.
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