ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves today signed OF Marcell Ozuna to a four-year contract worth $64 million. The deal includes a fifth-year club option at $16 million or a $1 million buyout, guaranteeing Ozuna $65 million.

Ozuna, 30, hit 18 home runs and drove in 56 runs to lead the National League in both categories last season, his first with Atlanta. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound product of Santo Domingo, DR, also compiled a league-high 145 total bases, while finishing third with a .338 batting average and a 1.067 OPS. He started all 60 games for Atlanta in 2020, splitting time between left field (19 games), right field (two games) and designated hitter (39 games). Ozuna finished 6th in the MVP voting and won his second career Silver Slugger award in helping the Braves to the National League Championship Series.

Ozuna became the first Braves player to lead the league in either home runs or RBI since 2005, when Andruw Jones led the NL in both with 51 home runs and 128 RBI. The last National League player to lead in both categories was Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton in 2017 (59 home runs, 132 RBI).

Ozuna hit a NL-best .394 (41-for-104) in September, while driving in 33 runs to tie an Atlanta-era record for a calendar month first set by Freddie Freeman in June, 2019. The two-time All-Star also won two NL Player of the Week awards in the month, taking home the honor for the period of August 31-September 6 and then again for the season-ending stretch of September 21-27.

Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by Florida in 2008, Ozuna made his major league debut with the Marlins in 2013. St. Louis acquired Ozuna in a five-player deal with the Marlins in 2017, before Atlanta signed him to a one-year deal in January, 2020. Over 991 career games, Ozuna has compiled a .276 (1,040-for-3,764) average, 166 home runs, 594 RBI and an .801 OPS.   

Ozuna earned All-Star honors in 2016 and 2017, while also winning a Gold Glove award in ’17.

In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the club designated OF Kyle Garlick for assignment.