Major League Baseball’s offseason has been quiet over the last few weeks, but with the new year underway, activity is expected to ramp up. All 30 teams now have roughly seven weeks to finalize their rosters before Spring Training begins.
For the Atlanta Braves, many of their most significant moves came early in the offseason, including the signings of Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez, Mike Yastrzemski, and Ha-Seong Kim. Even so, the team is still waiting on the futures of several important free agents—Marcell Ozuna, Tyler Kinley, and Pierce Johnson—who remain unsigned for the 2026 season. Ozuna represents the biggest decision facing Atlanta, though the addition of Yastrzemski may signal that the Braves are already planning for a potential post-Ozuna lineup.
Braves to Cut Ties with Veteran Left Fielder
Marcell Ozuna has spent six seasons with the Atlanta Braves and has grown into a fan favorite throughout Braves country. However, with questions surrounding his age, durability, and overall production, the possibility remains that Atlanta may choose not to bring him back, signaling a potential end to his tenure with the team.
That possibility was reflected in a recent Bleacher Report lineup projection for the 2026 season by Joel Reuter, which notably did not include Ozuna in the Braves’ projected lineup.
Here is what Reuter came up with for Atlanta’s 1-9:
“RF Ronald Acuña Jr.
1B Matt Olson
3B Austin Riley
C Drake Baldwin
DH Jurickson Profar
2B Ozzie Albies
LF Mike Yastrzemski
CF Michael Harris II
SS Ha-Seong Kim”
You don’t have to scroll very far in the story to see where Ozuna is predicted to land, as Reuter believes it will be the Arizona Diamondbacks who land the 35-year-old DH.
Marcell Ozuna’s Time With The Braves
Over the past six seasons, Marcell Ozuna has been a tremendous Braves slugger. Despite a “down” 2025 season, Ozuna still clubbed 21 home runs in 145 games and was an above-average hitter with an OPS+ of 113.
However, in 2023 and 2024, Ozuna was one of the premier sluggers in all of MLB. He hit a combined 79 home runs over those two seasons and drove in 204 runs in that span.
All-in-all, Marcell Ozuna has smashed 118 home runs over his six seasons with the Braves, and has several memorable moments hitting clutch, light-tower power home runs for Atlanta.
According to Spotrac, Ozuna’s market value is a two-year deal worth $27 million.
BaseballReference.com also projects Ozuna to bounce back in 2026 with 27 home runs, 77 RBIs, and an OPS well above .800.
As a primary DH, Ozuna’s only role is to just smash baseballs, but the end of 2025 raised some question marks about Ozuna’s playing ability, as he was oddly left out of the Braves lineup on many occasions.
It will be interesting to see if the Braves front office makes any other additional moves for an impact bat if Atlanta can not retain Marcell Ozuna, which at this juncture, it appears they will not.
