Despite their pursuit of pop in free agency, the Pittsburgh Pirates have maintained their position that the designated hitter doesn’t necessarily have to be a one-man job.

The DH spot has been occupied the past three seasons by Andrew McCutchen, but the 39-year-old franchise icon remains an unsigned free agent a week before the start of spring training.

While McCutchen ranked in the Pirates’ top three hitters in doubles (22), home runs (13) and RBIs (57), he finished last among qualified designated hitters last season in slugging percentage (.367) and OPS (.700) last season. The Pirates have left the door open for McCutchen to return, but it probably won’t be in as prominent of a role.

So, the Pirates made a reported four-year, $125 million contract offer to Kyle Schwarber, the best available DH, before he opted to re-sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. They also have shown interest in Marcell Ozuna, who is one year removed from 39-homer, 104-RBI season.

But they are also preparing to use the DH in a different way.

“Certainly a path we could take, to have guys rotate through that spot,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said in late December. “Again, it really just depends on what those next opportunities are for us this offseason. We just really want to build the best team we can in a way that focuses on 2026 but also keeps an eye on doing anything that would really sabotage anything long term.

“We’ve always got to keep an eye on that but with the priority on 2026. So, we’ve just got to see what comes to us. If the DH spot is a rotation amongst position players, I know Donnie (Kelly) is very comfortable with that plan. If we end up having someone who plays there more, if they’re hitting then that’ll work, too.”

Ozuna would be a major upgrade. Although his 296 home runs and 948 RBIs over 13 seasons trail McCutchen’s career numbers, Ozuna has batted .271/.356/.504 with 125 homers and 344 RBIs in 554 games as a DH. He’s served in that spot almost as much as he’s played left field (546 games), and has shown a good eye. His 15.9% walk rate ranked in the 98th percentile, per Statcast, and his chase rate (22.3%) in the 85th. He’s a right-handed hitter who has nine seasons with 20 or more home runs, including 21 last year for the Atlanta Braves.

As far as in-house options go, the Pirates have some solid choices. The most obvious is a platoon between first basemen Ryan O’Hearn and Spencer Horwitz as a way to keep both left-handed hitters in the lineup.

O’Hearn, who signed a two-year, $29 million free-agent contract, started at DH for the American League in the All-Star Game last summer. In 185 career games at DH, O’Hearn batted .247/.331/.416 with 21 doubles, 25 homers and 74 RBIs. Horwitz has a much smaller sample size at DH, batting .282/.378/.435 with four doubles, three homers and 15 RBIs in 98 plate appearances over 25 career games.

That both have positional versatility allows Kelly some flexibility. O’Hearn can play right field, which would give Bryan Reynolds a day off his feet. Horwitz can play second base, which would provide newly acquired second baseman Brandon Lowe a chance to DH.

The switch-hitting Reynolds might be the most intriguing of the candidates. In 35 games as DH last season, he had a .259/.329/.489 slash line that was 17 points higher than his overall batting average and 127 points higher than his overall OPS. He had 11 of his 38 doubles, six of his 16 homers and 22 of his 73 RBIs from the DH spot.

“Reynolds is the Mr. Consistency of the whole thing,” said Lowe, a two-time All-Star acquired from Tampa Bay in a three-team trade. “He’s, I would say, the Pirates’ version of Yandy (Diaz), almost, at least from the outside looking in. I’ll get a better idea after Spring Training and stuff like that. It seems like you know what you’re going to get out of him. The at-bats are the same. He’s going to go out, he’s going to take care of business. He’s going to give you a fantastic at-bat every single time.”

The 32-year-old Lowe could be another consideration. He has a .263/.341/.568 slash line with 15 doubles, 20 homers and 45 RBIs in 76 career games as DH. But the Pirates have said that they expect Lowe to be their everyday starter at second base, where he’s played 587 games.

Oneil Cruz is the least likely regular option, given that he’s batted .200 with a .586 OPS and seven RBIs in 75 plate appearances over 18 games at DH and it takes his arm and speed out of center field.

It could be a way to get Nick Gonzales into the lineup, especially as a righty bat against left-handed pitching. Gonzales, however, is 0 for 4 as a pinch hitter and has never taken a major league at-bat as a DH.

“Whatever the lineup, that’s skip’s call,” O’Hearn said. “I’m excited to hit around those guys. I think that’s a lot of talented hitters. It always helps when you get some protection. I’m really excited to see what Oneil Cruz looks like up close. For me, he’s in that category of guy that can just take over a game at any moment. He’s in that Fernando Tatis, Ronald Acuna – those type of guys – is where he’s at in my mind. I know he can hit the ball about 125 mph and it’s not comfortable holding a guy on first base when he’s hitting. Excited to play with him. Reynolds is a guy who has great power, switch-hitter. I watched him over the years. All down the line. There’s great pieces on this team. I think I complement the lineup well.”