Not long after missing out on Giancarlo Stanton, the Cardinals have reportedly acquired a different hard-hitting Marlins outfielder: on Wednesday, St. Louis reportedly completed a trade for Marcell Ozuna. Craig Mish of Sirius XM and Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com have each reported that the deal is done, pending a physical. 

 

Ozuna, 27, is coming off an excellent 2017 in which he slashed .312/.376/.548 (145 OPS+) with 37 home runs in 159 games. In trading for Ozuna, the Cardinals are betting that he's capable of repeating such a breakout performance, as he had a career OPS+ of 103 coming into last season. 

 

It's expected they'll be receiving multiple pitching prospects and at least one position prospect. Jon Heyman reports that right-hander Sandy Alcantara is one of those arms. The 22-year-old right-hander made eight relief appearances for the Cardinals last season. He has elite fastball and sinker velocity and also mixes in a hard slider. 

 

If Alcantara continues making progress with his changeup, then he may have a future as a rotation cornerstone (of his 72 minor-league appearances, 68 were starts). 

 

The Marlins will also reportedly acquire outfield prospect Magneuris Sierra.