Pittsburgh Pirates fans are watching the offseason moves closely, and the team’s interest in veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, first reported by Katie Woo and Will Sammon of The Athletic, signals a potential shift in offensive strategy.
Ozuna’s Potential Impact and Fit in Pittsburgh
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The Pirates are exploring options to bolster their lineup, with Marcell Ozuna emerging as a possible addition despite a down year by his standards in 2025.
- Ozuna, 35, hit .232/.355/.400 with 21 home runs and 19 doubles in 592 at-bats for Atlanta last season.
- PNC Park’s dimensions are notoriously unfavorable for right-handed power hitters like Ozuna.
- The Pirates’ current roster already features players vying for playing time at first base and designated hitter.
- Adding Ozuna could create a logjam and potentially impact the development of younger players.
- Pittsburgh has aggressively pursued other bats this offseason, including sizable offers to Kyle Schwarber and Josh Naylor.
Ozuna, who turned 35 in November, experienced a fluctuating performance in 2025. While not reaching his previous heights, he still posted a .232/.355/.400 slash line with a career-high 15.9% walk rate, a 24.3% strikeout rate, 21 home runs, and 19 doubles across 592 plate appearances with Atlanta in his final season of a six-year contract. He started strong in April and May, struggled in June, and then settled into a slightly above-average role for the remainder of the season.
While Ozuna would undoubtedly improve the Pirates’ run-producing capabilities, his fit isn’t seamless. PNC Park is widely considered the least conducive environment in Major League Baseball for right-handed power. Furthermore, the current roster configuration doesn’t readily accommodate an everyday designated hitter. Spencer Horwitz and Ryan O’Hearn are slated to share time at first base and designated hitter. Horwitz, after a slow start in 2025, finished the year strong, hitting .314/.402/.539 over his final two-plus months. He’s secured an everyday role.
O’Hearn possesses versatility, capable of playing the outfield corners, but Bryan Reynolds is firmly established in one of those positions. Signing Ozuna would likely push O’Hearn into a primary outfield role, despite his stronger track record at first base. Placing O’Hearn in left field regularly could limit playing time for the speedy Jake Mangum and potentially hinder the progress of top prospect Jhostynxon Garcia, acquired in a trade that sent righty Johan Oviedo to Boston earlier this winter.
Offensive Needs and Pitching Strength
Despite potential defensive compromises, there’s a compelling argument for the Pirates to prioritize offensive firepower. Pittsburgh’s pitching staff, anchored by Paul Skenes, Bubba Chandler, and Braxton Ashcraft—all boasting above-average strikeout rates and, in the cases of Skenes and Ashcraft, favorable ground-ball tendencies—is the team’s strength. However, the lineup has been consistently among the weakest in Major League Baseball for over a decade. The last time Pittsburgh fielded an average offensive club, measured by wRC+, was back in 2014.
An outfield alignment featuring O’Hearn in left, Oneil Cruz in center, and Reynolds in right would be defensively challenged, but a lineup including Reynolds, O’Hearn, Horwitz, Ozuna, trade acquisition Brandon Lowe, and eventually shortstop Connor Griffin—the top prospect in baseball—would represent a significant upgrade over recent seasons.
The McCutchen Factor
A potential complication is the presence of franchise icon Andrew McCutchen. Both he and Ozuna are right-handed hitting outfielders who have transitioned primarily to designated hitter roles. Ozuna didn’t play a single inning in the field in 2024 or 2025, logging only 14 innings in 2023. McCutchen played just 16 games in the outfield last season. While both would fill similar roles, the Pirates might favor Ozuna’s performance against right-handed pitching—he hit .235/.347/.415 against righties compared to McCutchen’s .228/.326/.358.
McCutchen expressed a desire to finish his career in Pittsburgh, where he currently resides, and the team has welcomed him back each offseason with a series of one-year, $5MM contracts. However, Ken Rosenthal and Stephen Nesbitt of The Athletic reported this week that McCutchen recently met with team owner Bob Nutting to discuss his future with the club.
The Pirates have demonstrated a willingness to spend, having shown interest in Josh Naylor before he re-signed with the Mariners and reportedly offering Kyle Schwarber a $120-125MM contract—which would have been the largest in franchise history. They also pursued Kazuma Okamoto and Eugenio Suarez before they signed with Toronto and Cincinnati, respectively. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reported that the Pirates were prepared to offer Suarez an additional year at the same annual value, but he preferred to return to a familiar organization with a hitter-friendly ballpark and recent playoff experience.
With pitchers and catchers reporting in a week and Opening Day approximately seven weeks away, the Pirates’ $95MM projected payroll, per RosterResource, is slightly higher than last year’s levels. Their aggressive pursuit of Suárez and Schwarber suggests a willingness to increase spending further. While their options are dwindling, it’s likely they will add at least one more bat to the lineup.
