Talented 24-year-old outfielder Marcell Ozuna returned Saturday to the Marlins' lineup after a roughly five-week stint in the minors. On his time in the minors, he had the following to say, via the Miami Herald:
"I was in the jail over there. It's like a jail," Ozuna said of his time with the Zephyrs. "But it's OK. I'm back, and I'm going to help the team, help Miami."
That's ... probably a bit much.
Still, Ozuna's exile seems pretty obviously a penny-pinching maneuver by Marlins brass.
Yes, he's only hitting .249/.301/.336 this season, but last year he hit .269/.317/.455 with 26 doubles and 23 homers. Giancarlo Stanton has been hurt since late June and Christian Yelich went on the DL last week. The Marlins moved career infielder Derek Dietrich to outfield instead of bringing Ozuna back from the minors.
Speaking of the minors, Ozuna was tearing it up, hitting .317/.379/.558 with 12 doubles and five homers in 33 games.
Again, it's rather obvious what's going on here, and it isn't lost on Ozuna's agent, Scott Boras, who reportedly told the Miami Herald that Ozuna was demoted to delay arbitration eligibility. He might have mentioned something to Ozuna, too ... (via the Herald)
"They tell me you're going down for work, get your feeling back and you come back," Ozuna said Saturday. "I know what happened when they sent me down. I knew that's coming. I don't go there for work, because they know me. I don't need the work. One for 36, 1 for 100, every big-league player has it. I have it and everybody has it."
And now it looks like Ozuna won't qualify for arbitration for next season but instead will have to wait until 2017.
Though it's far from "jail," Ozuna's frustration seems justified.
