Miami Marlins: Marcell Ozuna traded to the St. Louis Cardinals

The Miami Marlins worked feverishly to find a trade partner for All-Star outfielder Marcell Ozuna. They found one on Wednesday.

Shortly after the hangover of the Giancarlo Stanton trade, the Miami Marlins shifted their focus to their other All-Star outfielder. Marcell Ozuna had a career year in 2017, and Miami hoped to cash in on a major prospect return because of it.

His impending departure dominated headlines for days, and around one o’clock on Wednesday, an agreement was reached between the Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals. Ozuna didn’t come with any of the financial of no-trade clause hurdles that Stanton presented, and was an easier sell.

The St. Louis Cardinals were the Miami Marlins preferred trade partners all along. They had the most high-end prospects, particularly pitchers, and were looking for a player with Marcell Ozuna’s exact skillset.

The details of the trade haven’t been released as of this post.

The haul should be an absolute boon for the Miami Marlins, though. This trade, more than the one with the Yankees, should instantly bolster their farm system and set the groundwork for a potent team in the future.

The Miami Marlins were prioritizing pitching in their rebuild this offseason. The prevailing thought being that ace quality pitchers are difficult and expensive to come by on the open market. Even with Jeffery Loria no longer running the team, don’t expect Miami to win any bidding wars.

The pitchers they acquired in this trade should mature and become legitimate, top-of-the-rotation starters. Coupled with the pitcher they acquired from the New York Yankees, Jorge Guzman, the future is starting to look bright for the Miami Marlins.

So… what now?

The focus now shifts to the Miami Marlins remaining outfielder Christian Yelich. The team was moot as to whether or not they will be trading Yelich this offseason throughout the Ozuna negotiation process. But now that Ozuna has been dealt, they appear open to trading him.

It will take an incredible haul to net him, though. The Miami Marlins don’t appear opposed to the idea of Yelich leading a wave of young players. His contract runs through 2022, is incredibly team friendly, and coincides with the anticipated maturity of the prospects they’re acquiring.

This is a developing story. Stay posted.