Looking at the Braves’ current roster construction, the entire outfield outside of Michael Harris II is a disaster.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is expected to miss at least six weeks to begin the season, and the reality is it could be much longer than that. The Braves aren’t going to rush him back under any circumstances. Jarred Kelenic is the only other starting-caliber player on the roster, and that might be putting it generously, considering he was benched at the end of last season in favor of Ramon Laureano. The Braves don’t need to add just one outfielder; they need two with Acuña’s status up in the air. Unless… they get some production from an unexpected source.

Marcell Ozuna is fresh off the two best offensive seasons of his career as the Braves’ designated hitter. He’s played a grand total of two games in the outfield since the start of the 2023 season, but given the funds at Alex Anthopoulos’ disposal, he’s going to have to get creative. And based on the kind of shape Marcell Ozuna is in so early in the offseason, something tells me Anthopoulos might have shot him a call and said, “Be ready.”

I don't mean to cause any panic but Marcell Ozuna might be in the best shape of his life #MyLeftFielder pic.twitter.com/yokgLZ8N1u

— dren (@dren_braves) December 4, 2024

That’s an entirely different human being from a couple of years ago!

Once a Gold Glove outfielder for the Miami Marlins earlier in this career, Ozuna has been pretty much unplayable defensively ever since he joined the Braves back in 2020, in large part because he’s never been in anywhere as good of shape as he was early on in his career.

Of course, nobody should expect the Big Bear to be anything he once was in the outfield. There’s almost no chance he’ll ever be viewed as even an average defensive player again. However, given his offensive prowess, the Braves just need him to be somewhat serviceable with the glove. I still wouldn’t bet on it, but Anthopoulos might not have many better options if the funds are limited.

There are also a couple of other factors to keep in mind. There’s no way to know when Ronald Acuña Jr. will be cleared to play and what he’ll be able to do when he returns. It’s very possible he’s best served as a designated hitter more often than not, which would leave Marcell Ozuna out of the lineup if he can’t play defense.

There are financial motivations for this to work for Ozuna as well. He’s entering a contract year at 34-years-old. As long as he’s mashing, he’ll have a place in this league as a designated hitter. But if he can prove he can play the outfield, his next contract will be much more lucrative.

I’ll admit, I thought the days of seeing Ozuna in the outfield were long in the rearview. I’m still not confident it would work, and the Braves certainly need a backup plan, but it has to at least be part of the plan due to the uncertainty surrounding Acuña.