The Pittsburgh Pirates are cutting ties with veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna as they gear up for a playoff push.
A person with knowledge of the decision told the Associated Press that the club is releasing the 35-year-old following a nightmarish stretch in which the three-time All Star could never seem to get on track. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the move was not yet official.
The Pirates, who entered Wednesday
3 1/2 games behind Arizona for the National League's third wild-card spot, are planning to promote outfielder Ronny Simon from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Ozuna's roster spot.
Pittsburgh signed Ozuna to a one-year deal worth $12 million in February, a rare free agency splurge for the budget-conscious Pirates. The team hoped Ozuna would help balance out a left-handed heavy lineup. Instead, Ozuna started slow and never found the form that helped him hit 296 homers during previous stops in Miami, Atlanta and St. Louis.
Ozuna hit just .203 with 8 home runs and 29 RBIs in 70 games with Pittsburgh and had seen his playing opportunities cut significantly in recent weeks thanks to the emergence of rookie Esmerlyn Valdez. Ozuna was scheduled to make $10.5 million this year, with mutual option of $16 million in 2027 with a $1.5 million buyout.
The decision comes on the heels of a trade deadline in which Pittsburgh, seeking to end a decade-long playoff drought, fortified its leaky bullpen with a series of moves, including acquiring prominent reliever Luke Weaver from the New York Mets.
While manager Don Kelly and general manager Ben Cherington defended Ozuna repeatedly, with Cherington expressing confidence the underlying metrics showed Ozuna was close to turning it around and Kelly praising Ozuna's influence on the club's Latin players. But with a chance to play meaningful baseball into September on the line, the team opted to move on.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
