{"id":499720,"date":"2026-02-09T14:49:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T18:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/marcell-ozuna-reaches-a-one-year-agreement-with-the-pirates-according-to-source\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T14:49:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T18:49:39","slug":"marcell-ozuna-reaches-a-one-year-agreement-with-the-pirates-according-to-source","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/sports\/baseball\/marcell-ozuna-reaches-a-one-year-agreement-with-the-pirates-according-to-source\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcell Ozuna reaches a one-year agreement with the Pirates, according to source"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>PITTSBURGH.\u2013<\/strong> The <strong>Pittsburgh Pirates<\/strong> bolstered the heart of their lineup by reaching an agreement for <strong>one year and 12 million dollars<\/strong> with Dominican slugger <strong>Marcell Ozuna<\/strong>, according to a source to <strong>Mark Feinsand of MLB.com<\/strong> this Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>You may be interested in<\/strong>:<a href=\"https:\/\/ab.deultimominuto.net\/deportes\/beisbol\/yasiel-puig-es-declarado-culpable-por-obstruccion-y-mentir-a-autoridades-federales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yasiel Puig is found guilty of obstruction and lying to federal authorities<\/a><\/p>\n\n\nThe club has not yet officially confirmed the agreement, which would be subject to a physical examination. The contract would include a <strong>mutual option of $16 million for the 2027 season<\/strong>, in addition to a <strong>$1.5 million release clause<\/strong>, according to the report.\n\nOzuna becomes one of the main offensive additions for the Pirates heading into the <strong>2026<\/strong> season, being the <strong>third key reinforcement of the lineup<\/strong> during the offseason. Previously, Pittsburgh acquired infielder <strong>Brandon Lowe<\/strong> in a trade with the Rays and signed first baseman <strong>Ryan O\u2019Hearn<\/strong> as a free agent.\n\nThe organization has also been active in strengthening its pitching staff, with the additions of Dominican <strong>Gregory Soto<\/strong> and <strong>Mason Montgomery<\/strong> for the bullpen, as well as Mexican starter <strong>Jos\u00e9 Urquidy<\/strong> for the rotation.\n\nOn the offensive side, Ozuna is projected as the <strong>starting designated hitter<\/strong>, a role he could occasionally share with O\u2019Hearn, who also has experience in the outfield corners, as well as first base.\n\nAt <strong>35 years old<\/strong>, Ozuna has been called to the <strong>All-Star Game three times<\/strong>, most recently in <strong>2024 with the Atlanta Braves<\/strong>, and has <strong>two Silver Slugger Awards<\/strong>. Although his production slightly decreased in the past season, he hit <strong>21 home runs<\/strong>, marking his <strong>fourth consecutive season with at least 20 home runs<\/strong>.\n\nWith the additions of Ozuna (21 HR in 2025), Lowe (31) and O&#8217;Hearn (17), the Pirates have added significant offensive power, a priority for a franchise that in 2025 finished <strong>last in Major League Baseball in home runs (117)<\/strong>, <strong>slugging (.350)<\/strong> and <strong>OPS (.655)<\/strong>.\n\nThis new offensive core joins established figures like the Dominican <strong>Oneil Cruz<\/strong>, <strong>Bryan Reynolds<\/strong> and <strong>Spencer Horwitz<\/strong>, adding more depth to a lineup that could also soon welcome the <strong>number one baseball prospect<\/strong>, <strong>Konnor Griffin<\/strong>.\n\nWhile 2025 was not one of Ozuna&#8217;s best campaigns, the Dominican hitter was one of the most productive sluggers in the <strong>National League in 2023 and 2024<\/strong>. In 2023 he hit <strong>40 home runs<\/strong>, drove in <strong>100 runs<\/strong> and recorded an <strong>OPS of .905<\/strong>, while in 2024 he hit <strong>39 home runs<\/strong>, drove in <strong>104 runs<\/strong> and finished <strong>fourth in the MVP voting<\/strong>, with an <strong>OPS of .925<\/strong>.\n\nIn the past season, Ozuna batted <strong>.232<\/strong>, with <strong>21 home runs<\/strong>, <strong>68 RBIs<\/strong>, and an <strong>OPS of .756<\/strong>. Part of the decline was attributed to right hip discomfort during the first half of the year. Even so, he finished with an <strong>OPS+ of 113<\/strong>, backed by an outstanding walk rate of <strong>15.9%<\/strong> and an on-base percentage of <strong>.355<\/strong>.\n\nIn the last three seasons, Ozuna has averaged <strong>33 home runs and more than 90 RBIs<\/strong>, remaining a batter above average in Major League Baseball.\n\nBecause he received a <strong>qualifying offer after the 2019 season<\/strong>, Ozuna was not eligible to receive another in 2025, so the Pirates <strong>will not have to forfeit a Draft pick<\/strong> as compensation for his signing.\n\nOzuna has been a three-time&nbsp;<strong>All-Star&nbsp;<\/strong>and has batted .269 in 13&nbsp;<strong>seasons<\/strong>&nbsp;with Miami, St. Louis, and Atlanta. The Dominican has batted above .300 on three occasions, most recently in 2024.\n\nOne of the few <strong>places<\/strong> where Ozuna has had <strong>difficulties<\/strong> is PNC Park, his possible new home. Ozuna has a career batting average of .225, with only one <strong>home run<\/strong> in 36 games in a stadium that has historically been <strong>difficult<\/strong> for right-handed <strong>hitters<\/strong>.\n\nThe Pirates are confident that Ozuna will be able to balance a dominant lineup of left-handers. <strong>Lowe, O&#8217;Hearn and<\/strong> outfielder Oneil <strong>Cruz are left-handed<\/strong>. Outfielder <strong>Bryan Reynolds<\/strong> is ambidextrous.\n\nThe&nbsp;<strong>Pirates begin<\/strong>&nbsp;spring training when&nbsp;<strong>pitchers&nbsp;<\/strong>and&nbsp;<strong>catchers&nbsp;<\/strong>report to their complex in&nbsp;<strong>Bradenton, Florida<\/strong>, later this week.\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PITTSBURGH.\u2013 The Pittsburgh Pirates bolstered the heart of their lineup by reaching an agreement for one year and 12 million dollars with Dominican slugger Marcell Ozuna, according to a source to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com this Monday. You may be interested in:Yasiel Puig is found guilty of obstruction and lying to federal authorities The club [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[35481],"tags":[611,40813,13766,41186],"class_list":["post-499720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-baseball","tag-deultimominuto","tag-major-leagues","tag-mlb","tag-theperiodicodelatruth"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-2600","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","dum_api":{"author_name":"Redacci\u00f3n De \u00daltimo Minuto","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-logo-de-ultimo-minuto-96x96.png","categories_name":["Baseball"],"featured_media_url":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499720\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}