Free agent Marcell Ozuna is coming off a fantastic year with the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets have been rumored to sign the former all-star. New York, under new owner Steve Cohen, definitely have the money to sign Ozuna but in the bigger scene, the should not.
Last season with the Braves, Ozuna had a tremendous year hitting .388 along with 18 home runs which led the National League. While also batting in 56 runs, he was in the MVP race for much of the year.
Ozuna is a great player there is no denying that. However the Mets simply don’t need him at this moment. Ozuna is an above-average left fielder who has won a Gold Glove.
The Mets already have an excess of left fielders in Jeff McNeil, JD Davis and Dominic Smith. At this moment all three of those guys are big pieces of the Mets future. Plus, they are all younger than Ozuna and all three of them have really high ceilings. Davis and Smith already do not get enough playing time as things stand right now. So signing Ozuna would further diminish their playing time as well as their roles on this team.
If the Mets were to sign Ozuna they would have the option to move him to Right field. But there would be no need to do that either because Michael Conforto who just had a breakout year plays there and he has the spot all locked up. Ozuna could theoretically be moved to center field as he played at the position the first couple of years in Miami. But that would be putting him as well as the Mets at a disservice. Ozuna also occasionally plays DH but that spot is also pretty packed already. Smith, Alonso, Canó and Davis all played Designated Hitter last season and will likely continue to do so.
The Mets simply do not need Marcell Ozuna and at this time there is no reason for the Mets to sign him.
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