All-Star first baseman Ryan O’Hearn and Pirates agree to 2-year, $29 million contract, AP source says offenses in majors a boost. A person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the deal included $500,000 a year in performance bonuses. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because it was not yet official. O’Hearn receives the first multi-year free agent contract the Pirates have agreed to since 2016. The left-handed slugger is coming off the best season of his big league career. He hit .281 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs in 2025 and made the All-Star team for the first time while playing for Baltimore and San Diego. The Pirates’ rare splurge is their second significant acquisition in less than a week. Pittsburgh acquired two-time All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe from Tampa Bay on December 19 in a three-team deal that included sending starting pitcher Mike Burrows to Houston. Pittsburgh is committed to building around a pitching staff that includes reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and rookie Bubba Chandler. The Pirates are coming off a 71-91 season in which the offense finished at or near the bottom of the majors in the most important statistical categories, including runs and home runs. O’Hearn gives Pittsburgh some versatility. He played both first base and corner outfield. The Pirates have left-hander Spencer Horwitz first, although O’Hearn could see time there and perhaps in the outfield alongside Oneil Cruz and two-time All-Star Bryan Reynolds. O’Hearn is a career .252 hitter, but his numbers have improved as he has become a reliable contributor during his 2 1/2 seasons with the Orioles, who traded him to the contending Padres at the deadline. He’s hitting .277 with 46 homers and 182 RBIs since 2023 and now finds himself playing half his games in a ballpark where the 21-foot-tall Clemente Wall begins just 320 feet from home plate. ___ This story has been corrected. A previous version incorrectly reported that O’Hearn played for Kansas City in 2025. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
