Braves News: Vaughn Grissom, rainout, Marcell Ozuna, more
Although the game Wednesday was rained out, the lineups were released, and one interesting change was moving Marcell Ozuna up to cleanup. After an absolutely horrid start to the season for the troubled designated hitter, Ozuna has really turned it around at the plate over the last two months. He has posted a wRC+ of 150 or above in both May and June after a wRC+ of only 10 (yes, ten) in March and April. As we have come to expect with Ozuna, he is also significantly underperforming his xwOBA, as he has all but two of his major league seasons, one of which was his near-MVP 2020. This is still not a move I am sure that I would make, however, with d’Arnaud and Sean Murphy each performing strongly at the plate in their own right, and recognizing Ozuna’s massive struggles for the ~800 plate appearances prior to this resurgence. If Marcell keeps hitting at this level, batting him cleanup is absolutely fine though.
Braves News
With the rainout, here are the new upcoming pitching probables.
Vaughn Grissom featured in Tuesday’s minor league recap.
The game Wednesday was postponed to September due to rain.
MLB News
The Guardians released Mike Zunino, in his second season of struggling mightily after a tremendous 2021.
Former Braves’ executive and now Angels GM Perry Minasian described their approach to the trade deadline with Shohei Ohtani as “self-explanatory” in a bit of a strange attempt at dodging the question.
The Pirates’ ownership is reportedly supportive of a buyers’ mentality at the trade deadline, although this should be treated with a grain of salt, given the ownership’s recent history.
Alex Verdugo is apparently open to an extension with the Red Sox.
Source: Battery Power
