Was the Marcell Ozuna Signing a Mistake By Pirates?
p/c: Jonathan Dyer
It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Pirates were aggressive in their pursuit of vastly improving the offense during the offseason.
The first two notable moves transpired in December, with the trade of Brandon Lowe and the signing of Ryan O’Hearn. The latter was the first time the Pirates had signed a free agent to a multi-year deal in nine years.
On February 9th, the Bucs added their last noteworthy bat, as they inked veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna to a one-year deal for $12 million.
Last season saw Ozuna’s production take a dip with the Atlanta Braves; slashing .232/.355/.400, along with 21 home runs and a 1.7 oWAR. He was hampered by a hip injury. Those numbers were a far cry from what Ozuna did the prior two seasons, when he combined for a wRC+ of 147, and placed fourth in the National League MVP voting in 2024.
It’s been a real struggle for Ozuna to begin the 2026 season. Through 35 plate appearances, he’s recorded only 2 singles, for an .065 batting average. Ozuna hasn’t been barreling up balls much, with a 30.4% hard-hit percentage. Perhaps the one silver lining for Ozuna is a very unsustainable BABIP of .087, which would suggest that the hitting is likely to balance out.
Obviously, the sample size is small for Ozuna. The Pirates were clearly banking on Ozuna to be an upgrade at DH rather than go through the Andrew McCutchen nostalgia tour again.
Pittsburgh was the only team in the offseason that had any reported interest in Ozuna, which would seem to raise a red flag. Coming off a significant hip injury, as well as entering his age 35 season, it’s certainly understandable. Not to mention Ozuna’s well-documented character issue.
As we approach the middle part of April, I’m not prepared to say the Ozuna signing was a mistake. However, if the offensive struggles continue to persist a month from now, then it’s time to have a real conversation about Ozuna’s status on the team.