Miami Marlins All-Star Marcell Ozuna is drawing interest from 6-8 teams, according to a report by MLB.com.
Ozuna is set to be given a modest raise in salary arbitration, but Miami could still retain his services. Ozuna is under club control for two more seasons and the Marlins have already cleared over $300 million in future payroll this off-season. Ozuna would likely net Miami at least one top prospect in any trade.
With Dee Gordon and Giancarlo Stanton already traded this off-season, the Marlins are clearly in a rebuilding mode. Ozuna's value may never be higher than it is currently and the team will likely not compete in 2018. With those factors under consideration, it remains probable that Ozuna is eventually dealt in the coming days or weeks.
The San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals are a few of the teams linked to Ozuna thus far. The Giants and Cardinals have already talked with Miami about Stanton this off-season, but Ozuna should command a better package. It is possible some of the same names involved in the Stanton talks will come in this new round of discussions.
The MLB winter meetings are already underway in Orlando and deals have been known to happen in the early morning hours. With many agents, general managers and owners in one building, deals can begin and end during the week. CEO Derek Jeter is not in attendance, but president of baseball operations Michael Hill is.
In addition to Ozuna, Miami could look to move other veterans such as Dan Straily, Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa.
