The Pirates are continuing to build for 2026, adding All-Star first baseman Ryan O’Hearn on a two-year contract on Tuesday, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed.
The deal is worth $29 million.
O’Hearn, 32, is coming off the best season of his career in 2025, when he hit .281 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs and made his first All-Star Game.
The signing marks the first time that the Pirates have signed a free agent to a multi-year deal since the winter of 2016, when they inked Ivan Nova to a three-year, $26 million contract.
O’Hearn has spent time with the Royals, Orioles and Padres over his eight years in Major League Baseball.
He is a career .252 hitter, though he has seen a spike in his numbers over the past three seasons, dating back to 2023.
Over the past three seasons, O’Hearn has hit .277 with 46 homers and 182 RBIs.
The latest addition in Pittsburgh comes as the Pirates attempt to shore up their roster around NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.
The Pirates previously added Brandon Lowe in a three-team trade last week, as they try to build around their young star by boosting the offensive help he gets. Pittsburgh, after a 71-win 2025, is trying to end its 10-year playoff drought.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington made it clear earlier in the offseason that the organization would “pursue some things in free agency and trades.”
“We need to add to the offense, and we’ll be disappointed if we don’t,” he said at the general managers’ meeting in Las Vegas in November.
