Marcell Ozuna drew a lot of early attention once the free agent market opened, but there hasn’t been much recent news on the slugger’s quest to find a new team. As Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe plainly puts it, “there is little buzz around the 30-year-old,” as clubs don’t seem willing to move on Ozuna until there is a firm answer about whether or not the NL will adopt the designated hitter in 2021.
Though there has been some thought that Ozuna’s recent change in representation indicated that he wanted a quicker end to his free agent journey, there might be a lack of offers on the table, or perhaps a lack of offers that Ozuna finds acceptable, and he is also waiting for news on the DH situation rather than potentially leave more money on the table if the universal DH becomes a reality in relatively short order.
In other free agent buzz…
- Kyle Schwarber drew interest from at least a half-dozen teams before agreeing to a one-year, $10MM contract with the Nationals today, according to ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers (Twitter link). The Twins, Blue Jays, Yankees, and Angels were some of the teams linked to Schwarber in earlier reports, and the level of interest is further evidence that there is “always a market for lefty sluggers,” as Rogers notes.
- Several of the most prominent names from the Twins’ 2020 bullpen have entered free agency, with Trevor May (Mets) and Matt Wisler (Giants) already signed to other rosters. On top of these departures, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune considers it “unlikely” that Sergio Romo will be re-signed, while Tyler Clippard is a “maybe.” The Twins declined their $5MM club option on Romo’s services for 2021 and now could poised to move on entirely from the veteran. Minnesota has already signed Hansel Robles to add some experience to the bullpen, and while the Twins are hoping some of their younger arms also step up, Neal figures the club is continuing to explore the relief market since their current group “could use an additional hard thrower.”