The Pittsburgh Pirates have released struggling veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna as they gear up for a playoff push.
The club made the move Wednesday after a nightmarish stretch in which the three-time MLB All-Star could never seem to get on track. The Pirates promoted outfielder Ronny Simon from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Ozuna’s roster spot.
Pittsburgh signed Ozuna to a one-year deal worth $12 million in February, a rare splurge in free agency for the budget-conscious club. The team hoped the right-handed Ozuna would help balance out a left-handed-heavy lineup.
Instead, the 35-year-old from the Dominican Republic started slowly and never found the form that helped him hit 296 homers during previous stints with the Miami Marlins (2013-17), St. Louis Cardinals (2018-19) and Atlanta Braves (2020-25).
Ozuna hit just .203 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 70 games with Pittsburgh, and his playing opportunities were cut significantly in recent weeks thanks to the emergence of rookie Esmerlyn Valdez.
“Didn’t have a season that he would like,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “Just got to a point where we felt like we needed to make a move and open up the DH spot to be able to rotate.
Ozuna has a $10.5 million salary this year. He had a mutual option of $16 million in 2027 with a $1.5 million buyout. The decision came on the heels of Monday’s MLB trade deadline, Pittsburgh, seeking to end a decade-long drought without a postseason berth, fortified its leaky bullpen with a series of moves, including acquiring reliever Luke Weaver from the New York Mets.
Kelly and Pirates general manager Ben Cherington defended Ozuna repeatedly, with Cherington expressing confidence the underlying metrics showed the veteran player was close to turning it around and Kelly praising his influence on the club’s Latin American players.
But with a chance to play meaningful baseball into September on the line, the team opted to move on.
“It’s a tough spot,” Kelly said, “and hate to go through it.”