Scott Boras says that Miami Marlins players are pissed off at the team over the handling of Marcell Ozuna.
Ozuna, who is represented by Boras, was demoted to Triple-A earlier this month. Though Ozuna’s numbers weren’t great, they certainly weren’t bad enough where you’d say he should be in the minors. He was batting .249/.301/.347, which is really just a down year rather than the sort of disaster that would necessitate a demotion. Still, the Marlins sent him down nonetheless, and that has left Marlins players confused.
“Major league players on the club are very upset about this issue,” Boras told The Miami Herald. “They’ve approached the manager on several occasions. The organization is not applying its best talent to try to win. [Manager] Dan Jennings has told players on the team he wants him hitting No. 4 in the lineup.”
The players have good reason to be upset. The team has the second-worst record in the majors and is tied for the third-fewest runs scored in the league. With Giancarlo Stanton out, they could use all the offensive help they can get. And it’s not like Ozuna was doing any worse than say Christian Yelich, who was slumping terribly to start the season.
Boras believes the Marlins are trying to take away from Ozuna’s MLB service time by keeping him in the minors at a time when the season is already lost. He is probably right about the Marlins’ mentality. With moves like this, it’s no surprise the players have zero motivation to do favors for the club.
