Pirates make a rare free agency splash, finalizing $29M, 2-year deal with 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn
I have the Cy Young now, uh, what else do I have to accomplish in this game, um, you know, World Series championship, so we just gotta get everybody pushing in the same direction. Um, I think it’s going to be better next year, but, you know, talk is cheap. We have to show up and do it. One more. I personally love that if if we’re losing, the fans don’t show up in the in the same numbers. It’s not like Chicago or or Saint Louis, like, if you want fans, you gotta win. um. And they just they they deserve it. That’s kind of what I think we need to, to get back to is that gritty, um, blue collar personality that Pittsburgh is. Um, so I’m gonna push for that. I know there are others that are going to push for that, and then whoever’s new to the organization, they’re gonna realize real quick that that’s what, that’s what the goal is.
Pirates make a rare free agency splash, finalizing $29M, 2-year deal with 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn
Updated: 4:01 PM EST Jan 8, 2026
Ryan O’Hearn finalized a $29 million, two-year deal with Pittsburgh on Thursday, the Pirates’ first multi-year free agent agreement in nearly a decade.The left-handed first baseman and outfielder is coming off the best season of his big league career. O’Hearn hit .281 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs in 2025 and made the All-Star team for the first time while playing for Baltimore and San Diego.Video above: Paul Skenes wins Cy Young Award, sets sights on a World Series championshipThe rare splurge by the Pirates is their second significant acquisition in less than a week. Pittsburgh acquired two-time All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe from Tampa Bay on Dec. 19 as part of a three-team deal that included sending starting pitcher Mike Burrows to Houston.Pittsburgh has vowed to build around a pitching staff that includes reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and rookie Bubba Chandler. The Pirates are coming off a 71-91 season in which the offense finished at or near the bottom of the majors in most significant statistical categories, including runs and home runs.
PITTSBURGH (AP) —
Ryan O’Hearn finalized a $29 million, two-year deal with Pittsburgh on Thursday, the Pirates’ first multi-year free agent agreement in nearly a decade.
The left-handed first baseman and outfielder is coming off the best season of his big league career. O’Hearn hit .281 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs in 2025 and made the All-Star team for the first time while playing for Baltimore and San Diego.
Video above: Paul Skenes wins Cy Young Award, sets sights on a World Series championship
The rare splurge by the Pirates is their second significant acquisition in less than a week. Pittsburgh acquired two-time All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe from Tampa Bay on Dec. 19 as part of a three-team deal that included sending starting pitcher Mike Burrows to Houston.
Daniel Bartel/Getty Images
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 19: Ryan O’Hearn #32 of the San Diego Padres at bat against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on September 19, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Daniel Bartel/Getty Images)
Pittsburgh has vowed to build around a pitching staff that includes reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and rookie Bubba Chandler. The Pirates are coming off a 71-91 season in which the offense finished at or near the bottom of the majors in most significant statistical categories, including runs and home runs.