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Report: Mariners working to acquire Marlins' Ozuna

Steve Mitchell / Reuters

Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto appears intent to take advantage of a soured relationship in South Florida.

After reportedly falling out with Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, outfielder Marcell Ozuna is on the trade block, and the Mariners are reportedly working on a deal to acquire the 25-year-old, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. Miami wants a young starter in return.

The Marlins are fielding a lot of calls about Ozuna, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, who believes Miami could be interested in a deal with Seattle that involves more than just swapping Ozuna for a starting pitcher.

Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill insisted earlier this month that the team wasn't looking to trade Ozuna, who the executive said was still very much a part of the team's core. It was reported a week later, however, that Loria couldn't stand Ozuna, with one rival executive saying he'd be surprised if the team kept him.

Ozuna hit .269/.317/.455 with a career-high 23 home runs in 153 games in 2014. He regressed in 2015, hitting .259/.308/.383 with 10 home runs and 110 strikeouts across 123 games, and was even demoted to Triple-A for 33 games.

Hill said Ozuna arrived at spring training last year heavy and a bit behind, but stressed those issues had been ironed out.

Dipoto has been ultra-aggressive during his first two months in Seattle, pulling off four trades, including bringing in outfielder Leonys Martin.

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