It took Ryan O’Hearn a few years to get back on track after an excellent rookie season. But the veteran blossomed after leaving the Kansas City Royals, culminating in an All-Star season in 2025.
Now, O’Hearn is getting paid. The 32-year-old first baseman reportedly agreed to a two-year, $29 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
While not an exorbitant amount of money, it represents a massive increase for O’Hearn, who made $3.5 million with the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres last season. O’Hearn’s contract details have yet to be released, but he’ll average roughly $14 million per season with his new contract.
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O’Hearn looked like a budding superstar early in his career. As a 24-year-old rookie, he hit .262/.353/.597, with 12 home runs in his first 170 plate appearances with the Royals. With expectations sky high, however, O’Hearn collapsed over the next two years, hitting a combined .195/.287/.351 in 502 plate appearances, essentially working his way out of the Royals’ future.
After another poor offensive year in 2022, O’Hearn was traded to the Orioles ahead of the 2023 MLB season. Something seemed to click in Baltimore, as O’Hearn posted a combined .275/.329/.450 slash line in his first two years with the team.
He got off to an even better start in 2025, hitting .283/.374/.463 with the Orioles — and earning his first-ever All-Star nod — before being traded to the Padres at the deadline. O’Hearn saw his power production drop in San Diego, but he continued to post a solid batting average and on-base percentage with the team in the playoff hunt.
The Pirates are certainly hoping the team can find itself in the running for a postseason spot in 2026. After going 71-91 last season, Pittsburgh has been active this winter. The team traded for power-hitting second baseman Brandon Lowe, defensive stalwart Jake Mangum and 23-year-old outfielder Jhostynxon García, who played in the Futures Game last season.
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While those moves should help, the O’Hearn deal will likely have the biggest impact on the club in the immediate future. The Pirates apparently felt strongly that was the case, as O’Hearn is the first free agent the team signed to a multi-year, free-agent deal since Ian Snell back in 2016.
If he can retain the growth he showed in Baltimore, O’Hearn could be a solid middle-of-the-order hitter for a lineup desperately in need of production. The Pirates ranked dead last in runs, RBI and home runs last season. O’Hearn should help in all three categories, and combines with Lowe, Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz to give the Pirates a few formidable names in the middle of the order for the first time since 2015, the last time the franchise reached the postseason.
