After a 2023 season that saw him turn around what could have been a downward-plunging career and post 3.2 fWAR with an elite batting line, Marcell Ozuna outdid himself in 2024, gathering 4.7 fWAR (his best mark since 2017) and once again putting up one of the game’s best batting lines, easily becoming the game’s best DH not named Shohei Ohtani.
How acquired?
Ozuna signed with Atlanta Braves as a free agent in January 2020 after two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. A 2008 international signing by the then Florida Marlins, Ozuna re-signed with the Braves in 2021 with a four-year contract worth $65 million. However, the Braves have since picked up his club option for $16 million for the 2025 season, the book closes on him having secured a five-year, $80 million contract instead.
What were the expectations?
The 2024 Braves lineup appeared to be one of the most formidable in the National League. Ozuna was expected to be a middle-of-the-order bat providing power while serving as the teams primary — if not exclusive — designated hitter. After a disastrous start to his 2023 season, Ozuna surged, providing optimism that his 2024 season could yield similar results. He actually underhit his .393 xwOBA last year, and there was little reason to think he’d get derailed other than the standard aging and regression to the mean concerns. Those concerns, though, were not insubstantial — for example, ZiPS had him with just a 112 OPS+ central projection, and just 1.5 WAR totaled in about 500 PAs. Of course, he blew those marks out of the water.