The Pirates’ offseason bet on Marcell Ozuna has not paid off, and with the trade deadline approaching, it’s looking more like a contract they may have trouble moving than a piece they can flip for help.
Pittsburgh brought in the designated hitter on a one-year, $12 million deal, but the production has fallen well short of what the club needed. Ozuna is sitting on a .623 OPS with just eight home runs across 250 plate appearances, and his -0.8 bWAR tells the same story: he’s been a drag more than an asset.
That matters now because the Aug. 3 trade deadline is closing in, and the Pirates may not find much of a market for him. Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller pointed out Thursday that Pittsburgh’s list of impending free agents is short, but interest in Ozuna - or Dennis Santana - may be limited by how both players have performed.
“The Pirates only have four impending free agents, and it's hard to imagine there would be much interest in Marcell Ozuna or Dennis Santana with the mutually disappointing seasons they've been having,” Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller wrote Thursday.
Ozuna’s appeal used to be pretty clear. In his best years, he was a 20-to-30 homer bat who also brought quality defense, and he even won a Gold Glove.
But that version of Ozuna is long gone. At 35, he’s now confined to DH duty, and that narrows the pool of teams that might see him as a fit.
The Pirates could still decide to sell if the right opportunity comes along. Miller mentioned second baseman Brandon Lowe as a possible trade candidate, but he also made clear that Lowe is in a different class as a deadline asset.
“But Lowe has been everything they were hoping he might be with 21 home runs and an .803 OPS," he adds. "There would be a long line of interested parties if he hit the trade block."
Ozuna, by contrast, doesn’t offer that kind of appeal. For Pittsburgh, that’s the real problem.
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