When Marcell Ozuna agreed to a one-year, $18 million deal with the Braves he opted to bet on himself that a big season would allow him to reenter the market and obtain a multiyear deal much in the same way that Josh Donaldson was able to after his lone season in Atlanta. Details of just how big of a bet that Ozuna made started to leak out on Tuesday. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that Ozuna turned down a three-year, $50 million deal from the Cincinnati Reds to sign with Atlanta.
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Our own Eric Cole caught up with Braves outfield prospect Justin Dean to talk about his 2019 season, his Arizona Fall League experience and how he is preparing for the upcoming season.
Looking for the new Braves Nike jerseys? You can grab one here!
MLB Blockbuster
The Los Angeles Dodgers landed outfielder Mookie Betts and left-handed David Price in a three-team deal that also involved the Twins. The Dodgers acquired Betts and Price and also received cash from Boston. The Red Sox received outfielder Alex Verdugo from Los Angeles and pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol from the Twins. Minnesota received Kenta Maeda from the Dodgers to round out the deal.
The Dodgers also pulled another trade sending outfielders Joc Pederson and prospect Andy Pages to the Angels in exchange for infielder Luis Rengifo.
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The Baseball Writers’ Association of America published the Hall of Fame ballots of those voters who chose to make their votes public. The list included 91 previously unreleased ballots but did not disclose the identity of the solve voter who left Derek Jeter off their ballot.
The Philadelphia Phillies announced that they will retire Roy Halladay’s No. 34 jersey on May 29 which is the 10th anniversary of his perfect game.
The New York Post reports that Steve Cohen has decided to end his bid to buy an 80 percent share of the New York Mets from the Wilpon family. The report states that Cohen is unhappy with the Wilpons’ attempt to make late changes to their agreement.
The San Francisco Giants have agreed to a multiyear deal with Wilmer Flores according to a report by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The club has not yet confirmed the deal and the terms are unknown at this time. Flores is 28 and brings defensive versatility and an impressive track record against left-handed pitching.
The Miami Marlins and veteran Infielder Sean Rodriguez have an agreement on a minor-league deal that also includes an invite to spring training according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Rodriguez appeared in 76 games with the Phillies last season hitting .223/.348/.375 with four home runs.
Finally, FanGraphs’ prospect writer Kiley McDaniel is leaving the site to join ESPN replacing the departed Keith Law. Best of luck Kiley!