Marcell Ozuna Placed on 10-Day DL Due to Shoulder Injury

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Marcell Ozuna was placed on the disabled list on Wednesday due to right shoulder inflammation.

The team announced the move as well as corresponding transactions via Twitter:

He managed to stay in good health the past two years on his way to making back-to-back All-Star teams, averaging 153 games per season.

After hitting 23 home runs in 2016, Ozuna upped his game last year in terms of average and power. He slashed .312/.376/.548 with 37 home runs, 30 doubles and 124 RBI last season. 

The 27-year-old was hitting .275/.319/.409 with 16 home runs, 13 doubles and 69 RBI in his first season with St. Louis.

The Cardinals made a run at 2017 National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton during the offseason but had to "settle" for Ozuna as an offensive upgrade. Now, the team will have to figure out how to score runs without its star slugger.

If Ozuna misses time, Tyler O'Neill will likely see an increase in action. The 23-year-old is a former third-round pick and a career .273 in six seasons in the minors. He does have quite a bit of pop in his bat as well, as he slugged 24-plus home runs in four consecutive seasons. O'Neill is the organization's No. 2 overall prospect, according to MLB.com.

St. Louis doesn't have great major-league ready outfield depth at the moment following the trade of Tommy Pham at the deadline. Other than O'Neill, utility man Yairo Munoz (.284 average with six home runs, 12 doubles and 31 RBI in 76 games) could also see some time in the outfield.

The Cardinals acquired Ozuna because they thought he could be the impact bat in the middle of the order they were missing—so losing him for any amount of time will be tough for them to deal with. 

St. Louis has fought back into contention with a 16-4 August thus far, and Ozuna was a big part of the surge, hitting .321 with three home runs, three doubles, one triple and 11 RBI in 20 games this month. Losing his bat at this point won't help the Cardinals' postseason push, although the addition of Matt Adams could help them push through.