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The Atlanta Braves made a wise decision by allowing Marcell Ozuna to leave for the Pittsburgh Pirates in free agency. Ozuna is currently struggling significantly in his new role with the Pirates.
Braves look smart for letting Marcell Ozuna leave for Pirates in free agency originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Atlanta Braves didn't undergo many changes this offseason, with the only real change to the lineup being the additions of Mike Yastrezemski, Mauricio Dubon, and Dominic Smith as depth pickups who have gotten significant playing time this season so far.
But one of the biggest changes was the departure of longtime Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna. He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the Braves let him walk in free agency.
That decision looks to have been the smart one, as the Pirates slugger is struggling in a major way this season, and will likely need to be replaced soon after being such a big disappointment, according to ESPN's David Schoenfield.
"Did I think either of these signings would work out? No. Did I think they'd be this bad? No. Both teams will be in search of a DH to fill the void," Schoenfield writes on the Pirates with Ozuna and the San Diego Padres with Nick Castellanos.
The Braves allowed Ozuna to leave in free agency as part of their offseason strategy, which has proven wise given his current struggles with the Pirates.
Ozuna is struggling significantly this season, leading to speculation that he may need to be replaced soon due to his disappointing performance.
The Braves made minimal changes, primarily adding Mike Yastrezemski, Mauricio Dubon, and Dominic Smith as depth pickups.

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This season, Ozuna is hitting just .160, and has posted a brutal -0.9 bWAR through 25 games. He's been a big negative for the Pirates this season, a far cry from his 1.6 bWAR 2025 season with the Braves.
Atlanta letting him walk was the right call. He was already regressing, and that regression got a whole lot worse from 2025 to 2026.
He posted 3.4 and 4.3 bWAR in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and followed it up with 1.6 bWAR in roughly the same number of games. That was a red flag already, and this year, it's even worse.
He has a .470 OPS on the year with a 32 OPS+. No other season has ever been remotely this bad before, as his previous low was a 70 OPS+ and .645 OPS in 2021 across 48 games.
The Braves letting Ozuna walk was a smart decision, and with Smith hitting .344 with four homers and 17 RBIs and a .931 OPS on the year in Ozuna's spot, this decision from the Braves looks to have been a brilliant one.