Ozuna is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.
It's the second straight absence from the lineup and third in the past four games for Ozuna, as Atlanta has prioritized getting catchers Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy in the lineup at the same time. Ozuna's expiring contract makes him a prime candidate to be traded ahead of the July 31 deadline given Atlanta's disappointing 42-53 record.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: On bench again Sunday
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Ozuna is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
After a run of 70 straight starts came to an end last weekend, Ozuna now finds himself on the bench for the third time in Atlanta's past seven contests. The veteran slugger has gone 4-for-15 with two homers over his past four games but has a .665 OPS since the start of July and a .577 mark since the start of June while playing through a hip issue, which he's likely to have to manage the rest of the season.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Swats solo homer Saturday
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Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a 7-6 victory versus the Cardinals on Saturday.
Ozuna belted a 422-foot shot to left-center field in the second inning to give Atlanta a 2-0 lead. The veteran slugger may be working his way out of a prolonged power slump -- he's gone deep twice in his past three contests following a 21-game stretch with no home runs. Ozuna has had a pretty down year by his recent standards, posting a .761 OPS through 89 contests after registering an OPS above .900 in each of the previous two campaigns.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Taking seat Friday
Rotowire
Ozuna isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Cardinals.
Ozuna will grab a seat on the bench for Friday's series opener after going 2-for-11 with a home run in three games against the A's. Sean Murphy will fill in as Atlanta's designated hitter and bat fourth.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Ends power drought
Rotowire
Ozuna went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's rout of the A's.
His sixth-inning blast to right-center field off Mitch Spence was the fifth of five Atlanta long balls against the right-hander in a 9-2 win. Ozuna snapped a 21-game homer drought in the process, a stretch in which the 34-year-old slugger slashed just .182/.281/.234 with six RBI. Ozuna has had a rough first half of the season, and there are signs he could be nearing the end of the road on his career -- his 73.6 mph bat speed is down significantly from the 75.0 mph he recorded in 2023, and his 112.1 mph max exit velocity would be a career low -- but he still boasts an 83rd percentile hard-hit rate and 76th percentile AEV, so there's still some juice left in his bat. A second-half rebound can't be ruled out.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Getting rare day off
Rotowire
Ozuna is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles.
Ozuna's run of 70 consecutive starts is coming to an end, but it's a good time for a break since he's batting .130 (6-for-46) with no extra-base hits in his past 13 contests. Drake Baldwin will fill in as the designated hitter for Atlanta on Sunday while Sean Murphy works behind the plate.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Expected to play Wednesday
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Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said that Ozuna dealt with cramping during Tuesday's game versus the Angels but should be back in the lineup Wednesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Ozuna was not removed from Tuesday's contest despite looking uncomfortable, and it appears he will be back in there Wednesday for the second game of the series. He's dealt with a nagging hip issue, as well, and while Ozuna has started every game since April 18, he's slashed just .181/.254/.276 since the beginning of June.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Drives in three runs
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Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a three-run double in Tuesday's win over the Mets.
Ozuna delivered a clutch, bases-clearing double in the eighth inning to knot the game up at 4-4. He produced six RBI through his first 10 games this month but has since driven in eight runs in four games. Ozuna has produced two multi-hit efforts over his last 13 contests and now owns a .257/.389/.427 slash line through 298 plate appearances.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Crushes 11th homer
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Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Friday's 12-4 win over the Rockies.
Ozuna established a season high in RBI while crushing his 11th homer of the year, a three-run shot in the seventh inning off Victor Vodnik. The 34-year-old slugger has struggled to find his power stroke lately, slashing just .208/.310/.306 with two long balls, one double and 10 RBI over his last 84 plate appearances, but Ozuna does have 10 walks during that 19-game span.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Battling through hip issue
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Ozuna is playing through a hip injury that he'll likely need to manage throughout the season, 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.
Ozuna's hip issue doesn't appear to be an immediate threat to him playing in the team's upcoming series against Arizona, but it's worth noting that he'll presumably receive more days off than usual as the campaign unfolds. "It's one of those things he is going to have to manage and get to the offseason," stated general manager Alex Anthopoulos. The veteran slugger has only sat out of three matchups this year, so it appears he's been successful in managing the injury to this point.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Slugs homer No. 10
Rotowire
Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Red Sox.
The veteran DH accounted for Atlanta's only run of the day when he took Garrett Crochet deep in the first inning. It was Ozuna's 10th homer of the season, while the multi-hit performance was his fifth in the last 13 games -- a blistering stretch in which he's slashing .362/.483/.617 with four long balls, seven RBI and nine runs.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: On base five times in twin bill
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Ozuna went 2-for-7 with three walks and two runs scored across both games of Thursday's doubleheader split with the Phillies.
The veteran DH reached base multiple times in each contest, extending his on-base streak to 11 games in the process. During that stretch, Ozuna's slashing .333/.480/.564 with three homers, six RBI and eight runs, and his current .428 OBP on the season would shatter his previous career high over a full campaign of .378, a mark he set last year. Ozuna did post a .431 OBP over 60 games in the abbreviated pandemic season of 2020.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Goes yard, reaches four times
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Ozuna went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk, two total RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's 8-7 extra-inning loss to Washington.
Ozuna went back-to-back with Matt Olson in the first inning. This was Ozuna's third homer in the last four games, a span in which he's gone 7-for-15 (.467) with six RBI and a 4:4 BB:K. The designated hitter struggled for power in late April and early May with a 14-game homerless stretch, but he seems to have bounced back. He's now batting. 278 with a .913 OPS, nine homers, 24 RBI, 24 runs scored, six doubles and no stolen bases across 46 contests.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Homers again in win
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Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, three RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 10-4 win over the Red Sox.
Ozuna drove in a run on a single in the third inning and crushed a 430-foot two-run homer in the eighth. The long ball was his second in as many days, and the 34-year-old has produced five extra-base hits and nine RBI over his past 10 contests. On the year, he's slashing .267/.420/.467 with eight home runs, 22 RBI and 22 runs scored across 193 plate appearances.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Goes deep in loss
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Ozuna went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, an additional run and two walks in Saturday's loss to the Red Sox.
Ozuna entered Saturday having gone hitless over his past two games, but he snapped that stretch with a 417-foot solo homer in the first frame. The veteran DH added two walks and has now drawn an MLB-high 39 free passes this season. Ozuna's batting average is down a bit at .260 so far this season, but his OBP sits at .415 -- which is on pace for the second-highest mark of his career.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Smacks solo homer
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Ozuna went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and an RBI single in Monday's 4-3 win over Washington.
Ozuna put Atlanta on the board with an RBI single in the third inning and extended the lead to two runs in the fifth with a solo homer off Jake Irvin. It was Ozuna's sixth home run of the season and first since April 26 against the Diamondbacks. He's gone 9-for-37 with two runs scored, one home run and three RBI since the beginning of May.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Opens scoring with homer
Rotowire
Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Saturday's 8-7 extra-inning win over Arizona.
Ozuna took Merrill Kelly deep in the first inning. This was Ozuna's fifth homer of the season, and he also drew a walk for a sixth straight game. He has nine free passes and just three strikeouts in that six-game span while batting .375 (6-for-16). The designated hitter is batting .311 with a 1.031 OPS, 10 RBI, 14 runs scored and two doubles across 100 plate appearances so far in 2025, as he's been the most consistent producer of a largely underwhelming Atlanta lineup.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Draws four walks Tuesday
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Ozuna went 0-for-1 with four walks in Tuesday's loss to the Cardinals.
Ozuna never crossed home plate despite reaching base four times Tuesday. It was his third straight game with a walk and his third game this season drawing at least three walks. Ozuna has now reached base 11 times over his last four games, and he's hitting .317/.500/.540 with four homers, nine RBI, 13 runs and a 23:18 BB:K in 86 plate appearances this season.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Back in lineup Friday
Rotowire
Ozuna (hip) will start at designated hitter and bat third in Friday's contest versus the Twins.
Ozuna missed the entirety of this week's series in Toronto because of hip inflammation, but he's apparently feeling better after a few days of rest. The 34-year-old has cracked three homers while putting up a 1.008 OPS in his first 15 games this season.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Out until Friday with inflamed hip
Rotowire
Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said Monday that Ozuna will be unavailable for the team's three-game series in Toronto due to hip inflammation, Barrett Sallee of 680 The Fan reports.
Ozuna was sent back to Atlanta to undergo an MRI, which showed inflammation in the hip but no other serious concerns, per Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is considered day-to-day but will remain in Atlanta until the team returns home Friday. Bryan De La Cruz will start at designated hitter in Monday's series opener in Toronto.
