{"id":123621,"date":"2026-06-10T20:01:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T00:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=123621"},"modified":"2026-06-10T20:01:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T00:01:34","slug":"ozuna-unacceptable-pirates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/06\/10\/ozuna-unacceptable-pirates\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates Ozuna\u2019s Declining Output Raises Urgent Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When the Pittsburgh Pirates signed <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/o\/ozunama01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marcell Ozuna<\/a> to a one-year, $12 million guaranteed contract<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/02\/09\/marcell-ozuna-brings-to-the-2026-pittsburgh-pirates\/\" target=\"_self\">, they were hoping to get a bat who could provide some middle-of-the-order thump<\/a>. Unfortunately, Ozuna hasn\u2019t just failed to meet expectations; his production at the plate has become unacceptable, especially for a designated hitter. The Pirates must move on as soon as they possibly can. As a designated hitter, Ozuna is hurting the Pirates more than helping.<\/p>\n<h1>Marcell Ozuna Has Become An Unacceptable Part Of The Pirates&#8217; Lineup<\/h1>\n<h2>Osuna&#8217;s Offensive Downfall<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBiIhvmoJM\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 5564px; aspect-ratio: 5564\/3711;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>Ozuna is slashing a meager .195\/.277\/.303 line with a .254 wOBA and 62 wRC+ over his first 206 plate appearances of the season. He has hit for very little power, with just five long balls and a .105 isolated slugging percentage. On top of that, he is striking out nearly 30% of the time, with a career-worst 29.1% K%. There are very few positives to draw from Ozuna\u2019s bat right now. One is his solid 9.2% walk rate. Another is his .308 xwOBA and .395 xSLG% suggest some bad luck is at play, but both are still below the 45th percentile of batters this year.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Marcel Ozuna hears boos from the Pittsburgh Pirates crowd after this strike out.<\/p>\n<p>He is 1 for 26 to start off his Pirates career. His batting average is .038 \ud83d\ude2c <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HCTHtB8J9L\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/HCTHtB8J9L<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/js9inningsmedia\/status\/2040550552723947731?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>To put things in perspective, the Pirates had 13 batters in 2025 with at least 200 plate appearances. Ozuna would not rank in the top ten in any of the three triple-slash numbers, wOBA, OPS, or wRC+. The only noteworthy stat he would rank at least top-10 in is xwOBA, and even then, he would only rank between Alexander Canario and Jared Triolo. Keep in mind, the 2025 Pirates hit fewer home runs in a 162-game season than the LA Dodgers did in a 60-game season in 2020.<\/p>\n<h2>The Decline Started Well Before 2026<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBEHse23nf\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3072px; aspect-ratio: 3072\/2019;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>Even with hindsight, the Pirates took a big risk signing Ozuna. 2025 ended about as poorly as possible for the former Atlanta Braves All-Star slugger. From the start of June \u201825 through the end of the season, he batted just .203\/.308\/.365 with a .298 wOBA and 89 wRC+. He may have walked 13% of the time, but he also struck out in 25.9% of his 335 plate appearances and only hit a dozen home runs.<\/p>\n<p>It was a far cry from his previous 1517 plate appearances. That span lasted from the start of the 2023 season through the end of May 2025. In that time, Ozuna was one of baseball\u2019s best batters, slashing .287\/.373\/.539 with a .388 wOBA, and 148 wRC+. He crushed 88 homers in that time with an impressive .251 ISO. The slugger had the sixth most home runs, with the seventh best ISO in baseball during this stretch. He was also in the top 10 in wOBA, wRC+, OPS, and slugging percentage.<\/p>\n<h3>Damaged Goods<\/h3>\n<p>The main cause for Ozuna\u2019s downfall is his hip. The designated hitter<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6404028\/2025\/06\/04\/marcell-ozuna-hip-injury-status\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> injured his hip early in the 2025 season<\/a>. The Braves were originally worried that he would have to undergo season-ending surgery. He was able to play through the injury at the time. However, it\u2019s clear the sort of toll it took on his performance. Ozuna\u2019s bat speed went from the 81st percentile in 2024 to just the 64th percentile in 2025. He has regained some bat speed but is still only in the 67th percentile. His exit velocity has dropped drastically from 92 MPH from 2023 through May 2025 to just 88.8 MPH since the start of June 2025.<\/p>\n<h2>Another Option On The Rise<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_123649\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-123649\" style=\"width: 7354px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/USATSI_29060421.webp\" alt=\"Pirates right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez (55) gestures as he circles the bases on a two run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park.\" width=\"7354\" height=\"5253\" class=\"size-full wp-image-123649\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/USATSI_29060421.webp 7354w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/USATSI_29060421-768x549.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 7354px) 100vw, 7354px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-123649\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">May 26, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez (55) gestures as he circles the bases on a two run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/06\/pirates-top-prospect-esmerlyn-valdez-making-marcell-ozuna-seat-hot\/\" target=\"_self\">It\u2019s not as if the Pirates don\u2019t have other options<\/a>. Top prospect outfielder <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=valdez000esm\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Esmerlyn Valdez<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/05\/21\/pirates-promote-esmerlyn-valdez\/\" target=\"_self\">showed some promise in his brief five-game stint in MLB earlier this season<\/a> and is ripping apart Triple-A pitching. He is batting .255\/.388\/.526 this season with a 139 wRC+. He already has 13 home runs through his first 237 plate appearances and is walking at an impressive 17.3% rate. Valdez has only struck out 21.5% of the time as well.<\/p>\n<p>The Pirates do not even need to call up Valdez if they release Ozuna. Freeing up the designated hitter spot gives the Pirates&#8217; roster a ton of flexibility. Releasing Ozuna means they can utilize both Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O&#8217;Hearn there, as well as give Oneil Cruz occasional DH reps (especially with his recent injury). They can also get some better outfield defense by recalling The Password, Jhostynxon Garcia, another top outfield prospect who showed some potential in a brief look in MLB earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>As frustrating as it is to move on from a free agent the Pirates invested a non-insignificant amount of money into (at least for their standards), it\u2019s something they must do. Their designated hitter cannot be a bottom-10 hitter in the league if they want to compete. It\u2019s time to cut bait on Ozuna. We are about to enter mid-June. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/30\/pirates-cannot-give-marcell-ozuna-a-longer-leash\/\" target=\"_self\">The Pirates have given him plenty of time and a long enough leash to try and figure things out<\/a>, and it just hasn&#8217;t worked. His value isn\u2019t going to rebound, and they will be on the hook for his $12 million either in June or in a few months in October when the season ends.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Image Credit:<\/strong> Brett Davis-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Marcell Ozuna to a one-year, $12 million guaranteed contract, they were hoping to get a bat who could provide some middle-of-the-order thump. Unfortunately, Ozuna hasn\u2019t just failed to meet expectations; his production at the plate has become unacceptable, especially for a designated hitter. The Pirates must move on as soon [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5765,"featured_media":123650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"704","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1071,26],"tags":[29265,221,231],"class_list":["post-123621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-mlb","category-pirates","tag-esmerlyn-valdez","tag-marcell-ozuna","tag-pittsburgh-pirates"],"modified_by":"Matthew Nethercott, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5765"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123621"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123651,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123621\/revisions\/123651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}