Marlins' Hill: 'We aren't looking to trade Marcell Ozuna'

Though Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria was, at one point, reportedly eager to trade outfielder Marcell Ozuna this offseason, president of baseball operations Michael Hill insisted Tuesday he isn't exploring any deals involving the soon-to-be 25-year-old.

"We aren't looking to trade Marcell Ozuna," Hill said. "Those rumors just took off like wildfire. He's a young player. It's a game of adjustments. He will admit he came into Spring Training a little heavy and was behind a little bit."

In 2014, his first full season in Miami, Ozuna hit .269/.317/.455 (114 OPS+) with 23 home runs and 26 doubles in 153 games to finish tied for 20th among outfielders with 3.7 WAR. This season, however, Ozuna hit just .249/.301/.337 through his first 79 games before getting demoted to Triple-A New Orleans, where he posted a .937 OPS with five home runs in 33 games before returning to Miami on Aug. 15.

Over his final 44 games with the Marlins, Ozuna improved considerably, hitting .278/.320/.469 with 19 extra-base hits to restore some of the front office's confidence.

"He went down, worked on some things and came back," Hill said. "He's still very much part of our core. We're looking for great things from him."

Ozuna, then, appears to begin the 2016 campaign as Miami's everyday center fielder, with Giancarlo Stanton expected to start in right field (barring further setbacks in his recovery from hand surgery) and Christian Yelich poised to start in left.