A team once infamously dubbed a “hodgepodge of nothingness” by Dennis Eckersley now has a lineup littered with All-Stars after the Pittsburgh Pirates added another in Marcell Ozuna.
By agreeing with Ozuna to a one-year contract worth $12 million Monday, the Pirates not only pushed their payroll above $100 million for the first time but balanced their batting order with a right-handed power hitter who has 296 career home runs in 13 seasons.
As spring training begins Wednesday with pitchers and catchers reporting to big league camp at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., the Pirates might not be done building their roster. But they have a better idea of what the team could look like this season, and the heart of their order features four players with All-Star Game appearances.
Signing Ozuna provides clarity at designated hitter and the middle of the order, as the 35-year-old slugger has a career .265/.333/.453 slash line with 114 home runs and 382 RBIs in 637 games from the cleanup spot.
Ozuna hit only .234 in the four-hole last season but boasted an .844 OPS and hit seven of his 21 homers and 18 of his 68 RBIs over 34 games there. Not that he’s locked into that spot. His best batting average (.284) came batting third and his highest OPS (.846) batting fifth.
It’s not hard to imagine a Pirates lineup that features lefty Oneil Cruz batting leadoff, followed by switch hitter Bryan Reynolds, lefty Brandon Lowe, righty Ozuna and lefties O’Hearn and Spencer Horwitz. Combined they produced 116 home runs last season. That’s one shy of the Pirates’ team total last year, which ranked dead last in the majors.
Of course, manager Don Kelly could opt to have Horwitz bat leadoff and Cruz hit lower in the lineup. But Cruz has 21 homers and 56 RBIs in 112 career games atop the order, while Horwitz hit for a .367 average and 1.024 OPS in 11 career games batting sixth. And there is a belief around baseball that this is a now-or-never season for the 6-foot-7. 240-pound Cruz to live up to his immense power potential and become a superstar.
The addition of Ozuna also begs a bigger question: Who will play first base? Both O’Hearn and Horwitz are left-handed hitters who were expected to rotate at DH. O’Hearn also can play the outfield but has logged most of his time in right, where Reynolds plays. Horwitz also can play second base, where Lowe is expected to start.
Jake Mangum is a switch hitter who can play all three outfield spots, hits for average (.296), gets on base (.330) and is a threat to steal (27 stolen bases). Mangum is expected to battle Jack Suwinski and rookie Jhostynxon Garcia, who was acquired from Boston in exchange for Johan Oviedo, for one of the spots in the outfield.
Kelly could choose to play the matchups and break up the left-handed hitters with a righty bat. The bottom of the order has a handful to choose from, including catchers Joey Bart or Henry Davis, shortstops Nick Gonzales and Konnor Griffin and third baseman Jared Triolo, a 2024 Gold Glove winner who can play every infield and outfield position. The consensus top prospect in baseball, the 19-year-old Griffin could change the complexion of the team by earning the starting job at shortstop because of his five-tool talent and rare combination of speed and power.
National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes anchors the starting rotation that will feature Mitch Keller and Bubba Chandler with a likely competition between Braxton Ashcraft and Carmen Mlodzinski for one starting role and possibly a veteran for the fifth spot. The Pirates signed Jose Urquidy to a one-year contract and Mike Cleavinger to a minor league deal, yet would love to add a lefty to an all-righty rotation and signed veteran Andrew Heaney in the first week of camp last year.
The bullpen added hard-throwing lefties Gregory Soto and Mason Montgomery to returning relievers Justin Lawrence, Isaac Mattson, Kyle Nicolas, Yohan Ramirez and Dennis Santana. Lefties Hunter Barco and Evan Sisk also made late-season appearances. Lawrence was claimed off waivers in early March last year.
The Pirates have a full schedule of Grapefruit League games to make those decisions and determine their lineup before the season opener at the New York Mets on March 26. TribLive Pirates beat writer Kevin Gorman makes his first projection of the 26-man Opening Day roster:
Starting pitchers (5): Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, Mitch Keller, Paul Skenes, Jose Urquidy
Relief pitchers (8): Justin Lawrence, Isaac Mattson, Carmen Mlodzinski, Mason Montgomery, Kyle Nicolas, Yohan Ramirez, Dennis Santana, Gregory Soto
Catchers (2): Joey Bart, Henry Davis
Infielders (6): Brandon Lowe, Nick Gonzales, Konnor Griffin, Spencer Horwitz, Ryan O’Hearn, Jared Triolo
Outfielders (4): Oneil Cruz, Jake Mangum, Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski.
Designated hitter (1): Marcell Ozuna