Pirates reportedly agree to 1-year, $12 million deal with Marcell Ozuna as team continues playoff push
- - Pirates reportedly agree to 1-year, $12 million deal with Marcell Ozuna as team continues playoff push
Chris Cwik February 9, 2026 at 8:16 AM
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The Pittsburgh Pirates are trying to win during Paul Skenes' prime. The team continued its offseason spending spree Monday, reportedly agreeing to a one-year, $12 million deal with designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman.
The deal also reportedly contains a $16 million mutual option for 2027, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a one-year, $12 million contract with a mutual option for 2027, sources tell ESPN. The deal will pay Ozuna $10.5M this year with a $16M option that has a $1.5M buyout. @JonHeyman was first on the news.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 9, 2026
Ozuna, 35, is coming off a season in which he hit .232/.355/.400, with 21 home runs, over 592 plate appearances. While that slash line was 14 percent better than the league-average hitter, it was a steep decline for Ozuna, who hit 48 percent better than league-average over his previous two seasons. Between 2023 and 2024, Ozuna had a .289/.364/.552 slash line, and combined for 79 home runs.
The move marks yet another offseason addition for the Pirates. Prior to the reported Ozuna signing, the team traded for power-hitting second baseman Brandon Lowe and signed free-agent Ryan O'Hearn to one of the biggest deals in the franchise's recent history.
Power was clearly a focus this offseason for the Pirates, who finished dead last in the majors last season with just 117 home runs. That figure was 31 home runs worse than the St. Louis Cardinals, who finished 29th in the majors with 148 home runs.
Whether Ozuna has anything left in his bat, however, remains to be seen. At 35, Ozuna is a threat to experience major age-related decline and appeared to start showing signs of that decline last season. After averaging a roughly 92 mph exit velocity between 2023 and 2024, Ozuna's exit velocity dropped to 89.9 last season. His max exit velocity also fell to 112.1 mph, his lowest figure since the stat started being tracked in 2015.
That, combined with Ozuna's bat speed also dropping, is cause for concern moving forward. While Ozuna has recovered from down seasons in the past, getting back to his peak numbers could be tough now, especially if last year's struggles were due to his age, and not an injury.
The Pirates are going to need Ozuna's bat to show some life, because he's extremely unlikely to play the field. Ozuna has not appeared as a defensive player since 2023, when he played two games in the outfield.
If Ozuna can perform like he did in 2025, that would represent an upgrade for the Pirates. The team was desperate for offensive help in the offseason, and addressed that need in multiple ways. Now, it will be up to Skenes and promising youngsters Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler to lead the team on the pitching end.
At 23, Skenes already has an argument for the title of best pitcher in the majors. He's posted an ERA under 2.00 in each of his first two seasons and already has a Cy Young award under his belt.
But despite his excellence, the Pirates haven't won games. During his debut season, the team went 76-86. With Skenes putting up Cy Young numbers in his second year, the Pirates declined to 71-91.
Those struggles have led to speculation that the Pirates could trade the young pitcher in hopes for a massive package to help get the Pirates back on top. The Pirates have publicly shut down those rumors, and the team's offseason strategy suggests it wants to build around Skenes moving forward.
While that's an admirable goal, the Pirates haven't landed major names this winter. Instead, the team has shopped in a lower spending tier, focusing on under-the-radar upgrades. It should work. The Pirates, on paper, look like a much better team heading into the 2026 MLB season.
But contention could be tough. The National League Central looks solid after three teams in the division finished over .500 last year. And after missing out on the playoffs last season, both the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets also made improvements looking to return to the postseason.
The Pirates have done enough this winter to be in the conversation for a wild-card spot in 2026. Whether they reach that goal could depend on how much the team continues to add or how quickly it's willing to pivot if players like Ozuna fail to live up to expectations.
Source: “AOL Sports”
