This Braves Player Will Be Affected Most if 2020 MLB Season is Canceled

Many players on the Atlanta Braves are seeing pivotal 2020 seasons almost wiped away thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and the continued labor dispute, but the player who has to be the most frustrated is outfielder Marcell Ozuna.

Ozuna has yet to play a game for Atlanta, and the most noteworthy story he's been involved in while on the Braves involved his wife allegedly hitting him in the face with a soap dish.

The 2020 season getting canceled would torpedo his value as a free agent too.

After driving in 124 runs and clubbing 37 home runs during the 2017 season with the Miami Marlins, the St. Louis Cardinals traded away an All-Star pitcher in Sandy Alcantara to get Ozuna, figuring he would be the guy that would end up adding some pop to a lackluster lineup. While he was certainly solid with the Cardinals (.262 average, 52 home runs, 106 OPS+ in two seasons), no team is going to give Ozuna a nine-figure contract with those numbers.

Signing a one-year deal worth $18 million for a playoff-bound Atlanta team, with whom he was supposed to take over the cleanup role following the departure of Josh Donaldson, seemed like a perfect place to rebuild his value. Instead, he's been sitting at home twiddling his thumbs and unfortunately in the news for the wrong reasons, which is not how you convince teams to break the bank for you.

Ozuna's one-year, "prove it" deal has taken a turn for the worse given what's going on with the delayed season. If he doesn't play at all, he might need to take another short-term contract in 2021.