Ryan O’Hearn hit 17 home runs with a .803 OPS for the Orioles and Padres in 2025. Meg McLaughlin / Getty Images
Just days after acquiring power-hitting second baseman Brandon Lowe, the Pittsburgh Pirates have made another upgrade to their lineup, agreeing to a two-year, $29 million deal with free-agent outfielder/first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, league sources confirmed to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
The 32-year-old O’Hearn delivered a career season in 2025, extending a run of previously unanticipated success. He batted .281 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs, all individual highs. He represented the Baltimore Orioles in his first All-Star Game. His success attracted the San Diego Padres, who traded a bevy of prospects to acquire O’Hearn and outfielder Ramón Laureano at the July trade deadline.
O’Hearn fell short of replicating his first-half production in San Diego following the trade. It still went down as another season to remember. Less than three years earlier, in December 2022, the Kansas City Royals had designated him for assignment. O’Hearn, a 2014 eighth-round pick of the Royals, spent parts of five seasons with the Royals but produced -2.6 bWAR and 38 homers in 342 games.
A month after O’Hearn was DFA’d by Kansas City, the Orioles acquired him in exchange for cash considerations, designated him for assignment and outrighted him to Triple A. That spring, O’Hearn didn’t make the big-league club.
Now, his value is near an all-time high, after three consecutive seasons in which he functioned as an effective left-handed hitter. O’Hearn’s best fit might be as a designated hitter, but he possesses significant experience as both a first baseman and a corner outfielder.
Mostly, of course, his value is tied to his bat: Over the past three seasons, O’Hearn produced a 122 wRC+ against righties and a 116 mark against lefties. Though his opportunities against same-handed pitchers were limited, that split suggests he can be more than a straightforward platoon option.