Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna was arrested in the early morning hours on Friday on a DUI charge, according to Gwinnett County Jail records.
Ozuna, 31-years-of-age, was detained by Norcross Police and booked into Gwinnett County Jail at 4:30 a.m. Friday. Along with the DUI, he was charged with an unsafe lane change. He was released from custody on a $1,830 bond at 8:12 a.m.
Ozuna, who is in the second year of a $65 million, four-year deal with the Braves, has not been on the field in nearly a week, as the two-time All-Star selection has found himself in a platoon situation at designated hitter and left field. He is hitting just above the Mendoza Line, at .214, but he does exhibit power, with 20 homeruns this season.
This is Ozuna’s second arrest in less than 15 months. Ozuna was arrested in May 2021 on charges of aggravated assault by strangulation and battery after police officers stated they observed him attacking his spouse, in Sandy Springs, Georgia. He was put on administrative leave during Major League Baseball’s investigation and was not a part of the Braves World Series championship run last year.
He was given the opportunity to return to the organization this season, and Ozuna apologized to his teammates and the fans in May, saying, “I’m going to give you the best and I’m going to be a better person.”
As a stipulation of a pretrial diversion program to have those charges dismissed, Ozuna was mandated to serve six months of probation and complete a 24-week family violence intervention program, at least 200 hours of community service and an anger management course.
Ozuna’s days with the Braves could be numbered after this latest off-field distraction. He had already been benched after posting just a .184 batting average and .521 OPS since the All-Star break with only two long balls.
The Braves said they were aware of the incident.
“The Atlanta Braves are aware of Marcell Ozuna’s arrest this morning and are still gathering all the facts pertaining to the incident,” the organization said in a statement Friday. “Our organization takes these matters very seriously and are obviously disappointed by the situation. As this is a legal matter, we will have no further comment until the process is complete.”
The Braves are currently in second place in the NL East with a 73-47 record, just 3.5 games behind the division-leading New York Mets.
