The St. Louis Cardinals were unable to acquire Giancarlo Stanton in a trade with the Miami Marlins this offseason, but they have come away with a nice consolation prize.
According to multiple reports, the Cardinals and Marlins have agreed to a trade centered around outfielder Marcell Ozuna.
Ozuna to Cardinals is done
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) December 13, 2017
Source: Marcel Ozuna has been traded to the Cardinals. The deal is pending a physical.
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) December 13, 2017
The Cardinals had gotten deep into discussions with the Marlins about a Stanton trade, and the only thing standing in the way of a completed deal was Stanton waiving his no-trade clause. St. Louis is loaded with prospects and the Marlins have been trying to unload any players with hefty salaries, so the trade is not a surprise.
Ozuna, who batted .312 with 37 home runs, 124 RBI and an OPS of .924. last season, made $3.5 million in arbitration in 2017 and will be in line for a much bigger salary in 2018 and 2019. He drew interest from some other teams, but ultimately the Cardinals and Marlins made the most sense after what happened with Stanton.
