For weeks (months?), rumors circulated around the interest of the St. Louis Cardinals in Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, the platonic ideal of the now-trite term “impact bat”. But once it became apparent that Stanton would not waive his no-trade clause, leading to his move to the New York Yankees, it was time to reevaluate what constitutes an “impact bat.”
The version of Marcell Ozuna, reportedly acquired via trade from the Marlins yesterday, that made 679 plate appearances last season certainly fits any reasonable definition of “impact bat”.