O’Hearn is the first player the Pirates have signed to a multi-year deal since Ivan Nova in December 2016.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have made another splash to help their offense.
According to Robert Murray of FanSided, the Pirates have signed first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn to a two-year contract with $29 million.
Murray adds that the deal includes $500 thousand in performance bonuses over each of the two seasons.
Our long national nightmare is over. It’s the first multi-year free agent contract the Pirates have signed since Ivan Nova (three-years, $26 million) in December 2016, nine years later.
O’Hearn slashed .281/.366/.427 with an .803 OPS in 144 games between the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres. In 94 games as an Oriole before being traded to the Padres at the deadline, O’Hearn was a 2.0 WAR player with 15 doubles, 13 home runs, and 43 RBIs.
He continued his success in San Diego as the Padres made the playoffs, hitting .276 with 20 runs driving in over 50 games.
O’Hearn made the All-Star Game, hitting .281 with 21 doubles, 17 home runs, 63 RBIs, and a .366 on-base percentage. O’Hearn has a .788 OPS over the last three seasons and was over .800 two of the past three years.
He is the second All-Star the Pirates have added this offseason alongside trade acquisition Brandon Lowe. In O’Hearn and Lowe, the Pirates have added 48 home runs. The Pirates as a team were dead last in baseball with 117, 31 fewer than the 29th team (St. Louis Cardinals).
Pittsburgh was worst in baseball in home runs, runs scored (3.6), slugging (.350), OPS (.655), and 28th in batting average (.231).
The Pirates have added two impactful bats to their lineup in the last week, gifting Don Kelly two presents under the tree.
The offense is starting to come together and could make PNC Park a more vibrant venue this season.
Ben Cherington told the media after acquiring Lowe that he was looking for one more bat. The additions of Lowe and O’Hearn are solid, but the Pirates still need to make a big splash at third to finalize their offensive additions before spring training.
Category: General Sports
