The Miami Marlins are apparently on the verge of trading a budding young star, as the Seattle Mariners are reportedly working to obtain outfielder Marcell Ozuna, per ESPN.com's Jerry Carsick. In fact, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro noted Ozuna could be part of a bigger deal.
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Loria, Ozuna Relationship at Center of Trade Talks
Tuesday, Nov. 24
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reported the Marlins were looking at pitchers Roenis Elias and Nate Karns as part of a deal.
Crasnick noted a strained relationship with owner Jeffrey Loria was a catalyzing factor in Miami's push to trade Ozuna.
"I'd be surprised if they keep him," a league executive told Crasnick. "Loria clearly can't stand the guy and everybody knows it."
The Marlins' strained relationship with Ozuna stems from a strange midseason decision to send him down to the minors when he was in a slump. Thought of as a temporary move, Ozuna wound up spending more than a month in Triple-A for reasons no one in the organization could figure out.
“This is not what Marlins fans deserve. Fans deserve the best team," Ozuna's agent, Scott Boras, told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “The integrity of the game deserves the best players playing in the big leagues. And it’s not prudent to provide winning baseball at the major league level when your best talent is being restrained in the minor leagues."
Ozuna, 25, wound up hitting .259/.308/.383 with 10 home runs and 44 RBI. It was a marked downturn from his breakout 2014 campaign, which saw him go deep 23 times, drive in 85 runs and post 3.7 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs.
Given the persistent rumors about ace pitcher Jose Fernandez, it's clear some sort of organizational retooling is going to happen. Why that's beginning with two of the Marlins' most promising young players is anyone's guess.
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