Pirates Keep Adding, Ink Ryan O’Hearn To Two-Year Deal

Heading into this offseason, the biggest question surrounding the Pittsburgh Pirates was their offense. So far, they’ve made legitimate splashes on the trade market, adding Brandon Lowe, Jhostynxon Garcia, and more. However, despite many rumors, the Pirates had failed to land a big-time free agent.

This changed on Tuesday when the Pirates inked Ryan O’Hearn to a two-year deal worth $29 million, per FanSided’s Robert Murray. The contract also includes $500k in performance-based incentives, something that makes it even more interesting.

For the Pirates, this was their first multi-year free agent deal in nearly a decade. Ivan Nova’s three-year, $26 million contract, signed back in December 2016, was the most recent time the organization committed to a free agent for more than one year. This deal worked out fairly well for them, as Nova quickly became their top innings eater.

Fans and analysts alike had hailed O’Hearn as a realistic target for the Pirates all offseason. Given the rumors that they were hoping to increase their payroll this winter, he seemed like the perfect impact bat that wouldn’t completely break the bank.

Now that the Pirates have landed their first legitimate free agent in years, the question shifts towards the 2026 season and whether or not this will be the final move they make this winter. Considering their active offseason to this point, there’s a good chance that this isn’t the end.

O’Hearn’s Role for the Pirates in 2026

O’Hearn is coming off a monster 2025 campaign that was easily his best season to date. In 144 games between the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres, O’Hearn blasted 17 homers and slashed .281/.366/.437 with a 127 wRC+. He also generated 3.0 fWAR, a mark that would’ve led all Pirates position players by a good margin.

It goes without saying that the Pirates’ offense was putrid last season, and adding O’Hearn to the mix is immediately a huge upgrade. The Pirates only had two hitters post a wRC+ above 100 last season, and O’Hearn’s 127 mark would’ve blown them both out of the water.

The Pirates also didn’t have a single hitter with at least 200 plate appearances post an OBP above .360, with the closest being Joey Bart’s .355 mark. If O’Hearn can come anywhere near his .366 OBP from the 2025 campaign next season, he’ll have a huge impact on that side as well.

O’Hearn’s ability to get on base is largely due to the fact that he draws a healthy amount of walks. His walk rate of 10.7% was good enough to rank inside the league’s 76th percentile last year.

It’s also worth noting that O’Hearn crushes fastballs. He posted an xSLG near .540 against four-seamers in 2025, while recording a hard-hit rate just shy of 50% in the process. With this team’s young offense sometimes being overwhelmed by the presence of serious velocity, this will be a welcome change.

With Spencer Horwitz likely having first base locked up, O’Hearn’s bat could fill other vacancies instead. Although O’Hearn spent the majority of his 2025 season at first base, it seems more likely that he’ll slot in at left field or DH for the 2026 Pirates.

With the addition of O’Hearn, Pittsburgh has quickly become a pretty left-handed-heavy lineup. Between Oneil Cruz, Brandon Lowe, and now Ryan O’Hearn, the Pirates don’t have a ton of legitimate threats from the right side. There’s still the possibility they could add a player to fix this, as the club has been heavily tied to Kazuma Okamoto in the past few weeks.

This offseason has easily been the most active for the Pirates in recent memory, and they’ve suddenly become potential threats in 2026 as a result. The Cincinnati Reds earned the final Wild Card spot in 2025 with just 83 wins, a total that isn’t unrealistic for the Pirates with their offensive additions and electric starting rotation.

In the bigger picture, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ signing of Ryan O’Hearn marks a pivotal moment in their offseason. After years of stagnation in the free agent market, they’ve made a statement with a legitimate, multi-year commitment. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a new era in Pittsburgh, but only time will tell if this is a sustainable trend.