The Atlanta Braves will retain slugger Marcell Ozuna, with whom they signed a four-year, $ 65 million contract.
The club announced the deal on Friday night, less than two weeks before pitchers and catchers have to report to preseason training. The deal includes an option for the club to extend for a fifth year, with a buy-out clause of $ 1 million.
Ozuna, 30, led the National League in home runs and RBIs during the 2020 campaign, shortened by the coronavirus.
Heading into that season, he signed a one-year, $ 18 million free agent contract with Atlanta. He ended up having his best season on offense.
He hit .338 with 18 homers and 56 RBIs, coming close to winning the Triple Crown. He started all 60 games, with the best OPS of his career, 1,067, and finished sixth in the voting for the National Most Valuable Player.
Ozuna made 39 of those starts as Atlanta’s designated hitter after the Old Circuit adopted that role as part of health and safety protocols during the pandemic.
Last week, Major League Baseball proposed renewing the use of the designated hitter in the National League during talks with the union, which rejected the approach. The proposal also contemplated postponing the start of the regular season and expanding the number of participants in the playoffs.
