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Pirates have a Marcell Ozuna problem originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Pittsburgh Pirates figured that when they signed Marcell Ozuna this offseason, they were getting a reliable bat for the DH spot in their lineup.
So far, he's been anything but.
Ozuna is just 2-for-27 and has struck out eight times. Both his hits are singles. His .074 slugging percentage is third-worst in baseball so far this season.
Clearly, that's not what anyone was hoping for.
There was at least some sign of Ozuna decline last season. His average fell to .232, and his OPS fell to .755.
No one would've seen a total fall off the cliff coming, though, even at age 35.
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Ozuna likely will get a few more hits at some point, but the metrics aren't super encouraging.
So far this season, Ozuna ranks in just the 25th percentile for average exit velocity at 86.6 miles per hour.
He's chasing out of the zone more than 28% of the time, and he's whiffing 29% of the time.
Ozuna doesn't run well, and he doesn't play the field, so he really has to hit to bring value to a team. Right now, he isn't hitting at all.
The Pirates will have to decide how to approach this. Does Ozuna just get a recharge day or two? Do they start DH'ing someone else and basically move past Ozuna? Or do they simply ride it out and hope Ozuna finds his groove eventually.
Pittsburgh isn't necessarily used to having such a veteran around, particularly mired in this deep a slump.
If the manager is honest and straightforward, that's probably the best approached. Ozuna surely knows he's struggling, as do his teammates. What comes next could determine how much more time there is in Ozuna's MLB career.
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