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Bryce S's avatar

While I agree with you on your assessment that Ozuna shouldn't be able to tell the next set of cops that he plays for the Atlanta Braves, I disagree with your assessment of how to handle going about getting him off the roster.

A simple release does accomplish the goal in a nice and quick fashion, but I think you have downplayed the amount of weight $18M/year for the next two years on the payroll. Yes, you've noted that The Battery is a lucrative money-maker for the franchise and the Braves will likely have money to spend, but if they intend to improve they will need to get out from under that contract somehow.

You've alluded to the process by mentioning Muller, but I honestly don't feel he's the guy that'd get him off your roster. It'll either be William Contreras or Vaughn Grissom. Sounds like blasphemy (and admittedly, I haven't read your other writeups on catchers and infielders yet) but hang in there with me.

My reasoning on Grissom is simple. Down the stretch in the biggest games of the year, Snitker turned to Orlando Arcia to start at 2B. This isn't saying Grissom does not have a bright future, but it does say that Snitker likely didn't trust him defensively at 2B with the division on the line. With this in mind, I can't imagine a sudden shift in opinion over the winter where Grissom becomes a trusted replacement for Dansby Swanson at shortstop. Nor will Grissom supplant Ozzie Albies at the keystone. Sure, you could probably throw him out into left field or spend time DH'ing, but that's where his value as a hitter will go to die. Well...I lie. It won't die....but his value will definitely be blunted and he'll no longer be special as an offensive-minded middle infielder.

As far as Contreras goes, the thought process is similar. Travis d'Arnaud started all three games of the Mets series at the end of the year and the bulk of the playoffs if I'm not mistaken. Sure....d'Arnaud is an excellent framer and game-caller, but I think it also speaks volumes that Contreras was not used behind the dish often towards the end of the year, suggesting that he was simply being used because he was the hot bat at any given point and the alternatives were Rosario/Ozuna/Duvall for the DH spot and for the simple fact that d'Arnaud couldn't play 162 games behind the dish. As a mediocre pitch-framer, I feel Contreras doesn't really fit the mold of more recent catchers in Atlanta like the aforementioned d'Arnaud, Tyler Flowers, Kurt Suzuki. He could surely pick it up over time, but it would be a break from organization philosophy to dub him the catcher of the future. That said, if you're not going to use him behind the dish, his offense becomes a little less special when you DH him often. It's liken to how the Braves moved Evan Gattis out from behind the plate and into left field. What made him special as a catcher kind of just became another guy as a left fielder.

Of course, it's easy to suggest and not so easy to actually apply....but that's why you know me, right Thomas? =D I kid. Sort of. Honestly, I feel that if teams can move injured players with 1 year left on a deal, you can absolutely move someone who despite how poorly he really did hit still managed to pop 23 homeruns. It's just a matter of finding the right combination of need for power, need at position and desire to contend, but likely the inability to spend on the big boys in the market due mostly to your location or the current payroll situation.

For this exercise, I have over 5 teams I think could be enticed to take Ozuna's entire contract...but we'll focus on three of them who can afford the salary and then some (AKA: No small budget teams looking to add the prospects). The first is the Boston Red Sox. They have openings both behind the dish and at 2B (if Story is move over to short with Xander hitting free agency). If the BoSox feel they are teetering on the precipice of having to rebuild a bit they could be interested in either of Contreras or Grissom and could very well convince themselves that with the Green Monster in left that Ozuna's career may revive a bit. The second would be the Minnesota Twins who could use Contreras behind the dish and Ozuna at DH to make up for some of the offense lost by Correa's free agency. Finally, and potentially my favorite concept, is the Seattle Mariners who will likely be desperate for any kind o offense after down years from a lot of their outfielders not named Julio. They could use Grissom at 2B whilst having Ozuna slot in at DH for the departing Santana. After their first playoffs appears in forever, they will have the motivation to want to add big pieces....but I can't imagine them being a hot destination for the biggest free agents like Judge or the shortstops (and they seem committed to Crawford there also).

In all cases you aren't looking for the world in return. Probably a prospect without much of a future....but also I feel you could probably nab something halfway useful for the major league roster with the right trade partner--especially if the trade piece attached to Ozuna is Grissom.

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