Rangers, Marlins in trade talks for Ozuna

With Ozuna reportedly off the market, trade rumors heated back up Wednesday when it was revealed the Marlins are in talks with the Texas Rangers for a potential trade. The preliminary trade would send young right-hander Alex “Chi Chi” Gonzalez to the Marlins in exchange for Ozuna.

Gonzalez made 10 starts last season in his debut for the Texas Rangers. In an up and down affair Gonzalez went 4-6 with a 3.90 ERA within his limited appearances in the majors. Gonzalez was not a strikeout artist only sitting down 4 batters per nine innings on strikes. But, Gonzalez did give up his faie share of walks though, walking 4.30 batters per nine innings.

If the Marlins do swap Ozuna for Gonzalez, they get a young pitching option that is major league ready. While there are still some doubts about Gonzalez, he’s definitely an upgrade over Kendry Flores or Jarlin Garcia when it comes to young pitching options. Also, he showed a lot of promise in his early starts but faded later, if he can capture what he has shown in his first few starts, he could be a solid pitcher in the Marlins rotation for a long time.

The Marlins are also in talks with other teams on Ozuna as according to Jeff Passan and things are moving fast. Within the next few weeks Ozuna could be dealt away to another team and several west-coast teams have been linked as trade partner with the Marlins for the young outfielder.

As time goes on more information will come out about what potential trade partners could be offering for Ozuna, but the for the time being, Gonzalez is a solid return and the Marlins should consider pulling the trigger on the Rangers offer.