Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves has been arrested on suspicion of DUI

 Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves has been arrested on suspicion of DUI

ATLANTA, GA – Marcell Ozuna, a Braves outfielder, was detained early Friday morning and accused with driving under the influence of alcohol

Before the game against the Houston Astros, Ozuna spoke to media for 18 seconds. He delivered a statement but refused to accept questions.

'I let my team down,' he said. 'I let my family down. I don't have anything more to say. It's a legal issue.'

Ozuna was arrested for the second time in two years. On May 29, 2021, he was arrested on allegations of aggravated assault by strangulation and violence after police officers stated they saw him strike his wife. After completing a pretrial diversion program, the charges against him were withdrawn.

Ozuna was detained by a Norcross Police officer in metro Atlanta at 4:30 a.m. Friday and put into the Gwinnett County prison. He was arrested on suspicion of DUI and failure to maintain lane and freed on $1,830 bond.

The Atlanta Braves issued a statement saying, "The Atlanta Braves are aware of Marcell Ozuna's arrest this morning and are presently gathering all the information relevant to the event." "Our company takes these issues extremely seriously and is clearly upset with the outcome. We will not comment more because this is a legal concern until the procedure is completed."

Ozuna was not in the lineup on Friday, marking the fifth straight game he has missed due to poor performance on the field, according to manager Brian Snitker.

Snitker talked with Ozuna earlier on Friday but did not elaborate.

"No, like I said, I think everything has been said," Snitker said. "We're unhappy that occurred, but we'll simply keep going."

Ozuna, 31, is in his third season in Atlanta and the second year of a four-year, $65 million contract. In 2020, he hit.338 and led the National League with 18 home runs and 56 RBI, but he has since hit.215 over the past two seasons.

This season, Ozuna is hitting.214 with 20 home runs and 46 RBI. Even before the arrest, this season's poor performance resulted in limited playing time.

Snitker was unsure whether Ozuna would be suspended.

Ozuna was placed on administrative leave during an MLB investigation following his arrest in 2021, and he missed Atlanta's World Series title run. He was subsequently suspended for 20 games in November under the league's domestic violence policy, allowing him to return for the start of current season.

During spring training in March, Ozuna apologized to his teammates and supporters.

"My fans, I'm going to give you my all and be a better guy, and I'm sorry," Ozuna stated at the start of spring training.

Ozuna's pretrial diversion program includes 3-6 months of monitoring, a 24-week family violence intervention program, at least 200 hours of community service, and an anger management course, which resulted in the previous charges being dismissed.