{"id":40271,"date":"2025-03-12T01:22:53","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T01:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=40271"},"modified":"2025-03-12T01:22:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T01:22:53","slug":"breaking-news-atlanta-braves-marcell-ozuna-has-snitbear-news-thoughts-on-pending-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=40271","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS: Atlanta Braves\u2019 Marcell Ozuna has Snitbear news, thoughts on pending free agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

NORTH PORT, Fla. \u2014 We know about the expected returns from injury by star right fielder Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. and strikeout maestro Spencer Strider.<\/p>\n

Less clear, though, has been the status of one of the breakout stars of the Braves\u2019 2024 season. We are referring to the plush and furry stuffed animal known as Snitbear.<\/p>\n

Gifted last season to designated hitter Marcell Ozuna through manager Brian Snitker by a married couple who were longtime Braves fans, Snitbear became a good-luck charm and ever-present fan favorite. He did not lack for camera time on game broadcasts, perched in the dugout close by Ozuna, garbed in a variety of outfits and surrounded by assorted snacks.<\/p>\n

\n

Has Snitbear earned a spot on the 2025 roster? We asked the stuffed animal\u2019s guardian Saturday after his day\u2019s work in a spring-training game at CoolToday Park was complete.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Ozuna informed The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.<\/p>\n

Snitbear did not make the trip to North Port but has remained in his locker at Truist Park.<\/p>\n

Said the bearded DH, \u201cHe\u2019s in hibernation.\u201d<\/p>\n

ExploreCan you ace this quiz about Atlanta Braves history?<\/section>\n

Ozuna is himself emerging from his winter\u2019s rest. Against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, he smoked a double off the outfield wall. It was his second extra-base hit of the spring. Sunday, he ripped a single to left against the Boston Red Sox.<\/p>\n

For whatever it\u2019s worth, he finished Sunday\u2019s game hitting .250 with one home run in 20 at-bats this spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel good,\u201d he said, sitting at a picnic table outside the Braves clubhouse. \u201cI\u2019m getting better every single time I step in the box. Day by day, ready to do some damage and ready for the season to start.\u201d<\/p>\n

For reasons beyond his essential role in the team\u2019s pursuit of an eighth consecutive postseason berth and the franchise\u2019s fifth World Series title, the season carries weight for Ozuna. Now 34 and going into his sixth season in a Braves uniform (and 13th in the majors overall), Ozuna is on the last year of his contract, a club option that will pay him $16 million.<\/p>\n

ExploreJurickson Profar\u2019s wrist injury diagnosed as bone bruise<\/section>\n

Ozuna\u2019s future with the team may hinge on what happens over the course of the season. It\u2019s a drama that has played out previously with now-former Braves stars such as Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson and Max Fried.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think on that,\u201d Ozuna said, referring to his pending free agency. \u201cI just come in and give you my best, as usual, and then play the game, just have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some might take motivation from the chance to prove themselves going into their contract year. Ozuna does not.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, because you put pressure on yourself,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t put pressure. I just go.\u201d<\/p>\n

A repeat of 2024 would put pressure on the Braves to keep him. Last year, at an age when his production should be sliding, he had probably the second-best full season of his career, hitting .302 with 39 home runs and 104 RBIs. He was top 10 in the majors in those three categories as well as on-base percentage (.378), slugging percentage (.546) and OPS (.924). Only two other players could make the same claim \u2014 the two league MVPs, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. Ozuna was a deserving fourth in National League MVP voting.<\/p>\n

He said he didn\u2019t have numerical goals for the coming season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only goals I have are stay healthy for the whole season and then everything I can do to come in every day and have fun and play the game,\u201d Ozuna said.<\/p>\n

His value to the franchise is difficult to question. Ozuna holds the fourth-longest active tenure on the roster, following Ozzie Albies (2017), Acu\u00f1a (2018) and Austin Riley (2019). The stay has been clouded by two separate legal incidents that he has atoned for. But in three of the five seasons, including the past two, he has destroyed baseballs. He hit a combined 79 home runs in 2023-24, a total exceeded by only five players in the major leagues (teammate Matt Olson is one of them, with 83).<\/p>\n

He has earned the distinction of probably being the best designated hitter in National League history. His 104 home runs as a DH with the Braves are the most that any NL DH has hit in the history such a role has existed. (It began with interleague play in American League parks 1997-2019, full time in 2020, back to road interleague games in 2021 and full time since 2022.)<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, really?\u201d Ozuna said when informed of his status as the all-time NL DH HR king. \u201cThat\u2019s nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond that, he is a central figure in the clubhouse, respected and appreciated.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I\u2019m coming to the field, I\u2019m going to bring energy,\u201d he said. \u201cHappy, smile and nothing bad. It\u2019s what I have to be. I don\u2019t want to be that guy, grumpy and getting mad for no reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

All reasons to keep him. But the same held true for the likes of Freeman, Swanson, Fried and others.<\/p>\n

The calculus of this situation is different in that Ozuna is older than those three when they were allowed to leave in free agency. The fact that he presumably is past his physical prime diminishes the reason to sign him, but it also could mean that he would command less as a free agent and thus would be easier for the Braves to re-sign.<\/p>\n

The onus is on him to show that he can continue to be an elite power hitter at 34 years old. Since 2010, around the start of the post-steroids era, 11 players have hit 35 home runs in their age-33 season, according to Stathead. The number drops to five for age 34 and two for 35.<\/p>\n

He would like to stay with the Braves past 2025. He clearly fits with the team. He spoke of playing four or five more years or possibly more.<\/p>\n

However, \u201cbusiness is business,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to think like, \u2018What about if they sign me or not?\u2019 I just want to play and give my best to my teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, that\u2019s an appropriate place to leave it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI feel good. I\u2019m getting better every single time I step in the box. Day by day, ready to do some damage and ready for the season to start.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":40272,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING NEWS: Atlanta Braves\u2019 Marcell Ozuna has Snitbear news, thoughts on pending free agency - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=40271\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING NEWS: Atlanta Braves\u2019 Marcell Ozuna has Snitbear news, thoughts on pending free agency - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI feel good. 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