PITTSBURGH — The Pirates opened the season 7-4, but Ben Cherington spent Tuesday afternoon defending a different number: Marcell Ozuna’s.065 batting average. The veteran designated hitter, signed to a $12 million free-agent deal to supply middle-of-the-order power, has two hits in 31 at-bats through the first two weeks and has yet to hit an extra-base ball.
Ozuna has also struck out eight times and walked four times, leaving him with a.236 OPS. Pittsburgh left him out of the lineup in a 7-1 win over the San Diego Padres and used a different designated hitter for the second time in three games, a sign the club is still searching for a spark while staying patient with the slump.
Cherington said the Pirates need to give Ozuna time, calling for “more runway” and “more time” while noting that the outcomes have not been there. He said Ozuna has had rough starts before and added there was nothing in what the Pirates are seeing that suggests he will not come out of it.
That patience fits a pattern. The Pirates have given longer runways to Yoshi Tsutsugo in 2022, Rowdy Tellez in 2024 and Tommy Pham last year, and Cherington said players with track records should be allowed time before judgments are made. In his view, the club would be “cutting our nose off to spite our face” by not giving Ozuna or anyone else the chance to settle in.
Ozuna’s struggles land in a lineup that has produced in other spots. Cherington said the outfield trio of Oneil Cruz, Ryan O'Hearn and Bryan Reynolds has combined for nine home runs and 28 RBIs through the first 11 games, even as their defense has lagged. The three have combined for minus-4 defensive runs this season, and manager Don Kelly has used Billy Cook and Jake Mangum as late-inning defensive replacements to protect leads.
Cook helped close out the San Diego game with a pair of catches on the warning track against the wall for the final out, a snapshot of the tradeoff Pittsburgh is making: offense in one moment, defense in the next. Cherington said the work and effort from the group have been consistent in review, and said the club is still early enough in the season to know where it will land.
For Ozuna, who came in with 14 major league seasons, 296 home runs and 948 RBIs on his resume, the next stretch may matter more than the first two weeks. The Pirates have not changed course yet, but they also have not hidden the problem: they signed him for power, and so far they are waiting for it to arrive.
