Insightful: Why Marcell Ozuna was Rob of an Award Despite been among Best Players in ’23

Last season, the Braves were the most decorated club in baseball.

The team sent eight players to the All-Star game, five of whom were named All-Stars, three Silver Sluggers, the first-ever team Silver Slugger award, and the NL MVP. They were still ignored in some way.

Bryce Harper was named Silver Slugger for the DH position despite not having a better year at the plate than Marcell Ozuna. The Big Bear hit 40 home runs and 100 RBIs while batting.274 and slugging.558 for a.905 OPS.

In comparison, Harper had a.293 batting average with a.499 slugging percentage for a.900 OPS. Despite playing in fewer games than Ozuna (around 20), Harper only hit 21 home homers.

It’s difficult for a Braves fan to sympathize with the typical baseball fan when the team won 100 games and became the first offense in history to slug over.500, yet Ozuna was completely overlooked.

As a consolation prize, Ozuna can take comfort in knowing that he was one of MLB.com’s top players who did not win an award.

Ozuna’s 2023 arc was incredible. According to the article, he had a.397 OPS through April and ended up with an OPS above.900. Many were ready to give up on Ozuna, but the Braves persisted with him after attempting to trade him in a Patrick Corbin trade, and were rewarded with what should’ve been a Silver Slugger season from Ozuna.

READ MORE:

Yamamoto’s signing cost the Braves two of their main Division Opponents

While Yoshinobu Yamamoto signing with the Dodgers isn’t ideal, it’s better than the Mets and Phillies missing out.

The Atlanta Braves’ offseason has not been ideal, given that their main National League rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, have gone wild. Not only did Los Angeles sign Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow earlier this summer, but they also signed the best starter on the market last year when Yoshinobu Yamamoto agreed to a 12-year deal.

We’ll have to wait and see if the Dodgers’ large financial commitment pays off, but it’s a shame the Braves weren’t greater players for Yamamoto. With Max Fried scheduled to become a free agent in 2024 and the Braves’ rotation a significant question mark after next season, it seems like a 25-year-old with multiple good pitches would have made sense.

However, Braves supporters can take heart in the fact that two of their NL East rivals, the Mets and Phillies, both missed out on Yamamoto despite avidly pursuing him.

Yamamoto’s absence from the Mets and Phillies is a good consolation reward

Yamamoto’s services were in high demand, to say the least. Along with the Dodgers, the Giants, Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, and Mets were all vying for his services. While the Giants’ inability to land any star, as well as the Yankees’ inability to obtain what they want, the attention here is on the Phillies and Mets, as Atlanta must be relieved that the rest of the National League East didn’t get a boost last night.

Yamamoto was always considered a long shot by the Phillies. They could have utilized him in their rotation because, well, every team could, and Philly did make a strong offer for him, but the consensus throughout this process was that he should have been traded.

Atlanta supporters, more than any other, enjoy drinking Mets fans’ tears. Steve Cohen tried everything he could to bribe Yamamoto into ignoring the fact that the Mets are unlikely to be good next season, and there are no guarantees they will be good beyond that unless Cohen is willing to spend the gross national product of a small country. Yamamoto was offered $325 million by the Mets, which the Dodgers matched, and that was the end of it. Absolutely delectable.

With Yamamoto finally off the market, the remainder of the offseason can begin. It’s uncertain how active the Braves will be the rest of the way, but they can rest easy knowing that the rest of the division is in the same boat as them, albeit with one fewer strong free agent to pick from.