The St. Louis Cardinals, rebuffed in their bid to land Giancarlo Stanton, settled for the second-best Miami Marlins outfielder available, acquiring 37-home run man Marcell Ozuna, according to a baseball official with direct knowledge of the deal.
The official spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the trade has not been finalized.
Miami Herald beat reporter Clark Spencer said the players heading to Miami are Sandy Alcantara, Magneuris Sierra, Zac Gallen and Daniel Castano. MLB.com ranked Sierra as the No. 6 prospect in the Cardinals system, Alcantara as the No. 9 prospect and Gallen as the No. 13 prospect.
Ozuna, who recently turned 27, batted .322 and drove in 124 runs last year, earning a second All-Star bid. He has two seasons remaining before he's eligible for free agency.
Stanton rejected a trade that the Cardinals and Marlins had in place before accepting a trade to the New York Yankees.
Ozuna is projected to earn $10.9 million in his second-to-last season of arbitration eligibility.
The Marlins payroll purge began with Dee Gordon, who was traded to the Seattle Mariners before the Winter Meetings began. Marlins CEO Derek Jeter has said he wants to cut payroll by more than 20 percent to $90 million or less.