Why the Pirates believe their offense is prepped to impress

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Ryan O'Hearn wasn’t trying to make some grand declaration. He was simply describing what he saw.

It was Saturday, Feb. 21, midway through the Pirates’ Grapefruit League opener against the Orioles in Sarasota. After his workday concluded, O’Hearn described getting 2023 Orioles vibes with the ‘26 Pirates, a group that’s grown closer during Spring Training and hopes to blend young stars with a few key veteran additions to outperform projections.

“There aren’t a lot of fake, rah-rah speeches right now,” O’Hearn would say later when asked to revisit those comments. “Just a quiet confidence about what we have a chance to do this year.”

O’Hearn has legitimate reason to believe -- and it involves far more than a healthy clubhouse culture that's been building down here or the Pirates’ dynamic pitching staff.

The reason, believe it or not, could be the offense.

Yes, the same thing that limited the Pirates in 2025, the facet in their game that led to MLB-low totals in home runs (117), runs scored (583), OPS (.655) and other statistical categories.

It’s also the road map that helped the Pirates navigate their offseason, adding several veteran hitters to the lineup via trade and free agency and pushing for a postseason berth in 2026.

As such, the juxtaposition of what this group can do versus how things went a season ago is certainly striking. Pittsburgh should be able to hit and score plenty of runs.

“I think we have a really good lineup,” Bryan Reynolds said. “If you look around the league, I think ours stacks right up there.

“We have talent. We have fast guys. We have guys who can hit homers. We have guys who can get on base. I think it’s going to be a good offensive year.”

The math required for that to happen isn’t exactly phantasmal.

The 2023 Orioles jumped 18 wins (83 to 101) year-over-year because their offense took a sizable leap, their team OPS climbing from .695 (20th) in 2022 to .742 (tied for 13th).

They didn’t homer a ton. Those Orioles finished with 183 long balls, good enough for 17th. Only three Baltimore batters (Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Anthony Santander) hit 20 or more. But they flashed gap-to-gap power and finished 12th in total bases (2,313).

The question becomes whether a revamped offense in Pittsburgh can do something like that, and it’s hardly nuts to believe that’s possible.

Just look at who the Pirates have added, then consider the residual effect lineup protection might have on returning players such as Reynolds or Oneil Cruz, two of Pittsburgh's best-looking hitters so far this spring.

To get there, though, let's actually start with O’Hearn, who hit .278 with an .832 OPS against left-handed pitching in 2025. The Pirates had a .635 OPS against southpaws last season, so improvement in that department should be readily available.

One card manager Don Kelly could play is sitting Spencer Horwitz against lefties, moving O’Hearn to first and using that as a way to get Jake Mangum at-bats.

Whether it comes this way or via another route, the Pirates must be cognizant of playing Mangum. His ability to quickly affect games has been plenty obvious this spring.

But alignment makes Pittsburgh better. So does getting more left-handed at PNC Park, as well as bringing in guys who can hit with runners in scoring position. Brandon Lowe and O’Hearn slugged .500 or better in that situation last season. Marcell Ozuna has an .805 career OPS while hitting with runners on second and third.

The Pirates also have a variety of skill sets: speed from Mangum and Cruz, hitters who will see pitches and work counts and actually a respectable amount of pop.

Ozuna and Lowe have combined for five seasons with at least 30 homers. The Pirates’ lineup will also now feature a combined eight All-Star Game appearances.

There are four lefties, a righty and a switch-hitter among the potential top six batters, plus 10 full seasons (minimum: 100 games) where someone had an .800 or better OPS.

If there’s some level of improvement from Jared Triolo, Henry Davis or Nick Gonzales, or if the Pirates decide to have Konnor Griffin on the Opening Day roster, they can attack you a number of ways.

“We have a really good mix of different guys,” Kelly said. “Just a lot of different options there with who we added, who we’re bringing back.”

Enough to make a legitimate, numerical case that they’ll be better at every spot, especially when you take into account the newfound lineup protection, as well as steps forward it looks like Cruz (hitting .538 this spring) is in the process of taking.

To take this a step further, let’s look at how the Pirates fared at each lineup spot in 2025, along with the associated MLB rank.

C: .606 OPS (T-26th)
1B: .734 (16th)
2B: .651 (23rd)
SS: .633 (26th)
3B: .573 (30th)
RF: .693 (T-18th)
CF: .664 (22nd)
LF: .624 (30th)
DH: .718 (23rd)

Lowe has produced a .780 OPS over the past three seasons. We’ll split the difference on Ozuna’s incredible 2024 (.925 OPS) and his hip-hampered decline of ‘25 (.756), which would theoretically give the Pirates an .841 OPS at designated hitter. That would have trailed only the Dodgers, Yankees and Phillies in ‘25.

If Reynolds and O’Hearn would merely match their career OPS, it would represent more than a 200-point increase over the corner-outfield aggregate in 2025.

Cruz realizing his potential would render his 2025 OPS of .676 laughable, while we’ve spoken plenty about Griffin’s incredibly high ceiling.

Bottom line, it’s easy to see O’Hearn’s point. There’s confidence in this group performing better because it’s a diverse lineup full of guys who’ve actually done it before.

Certainly not someone talking just to talk.

“I wasn’t trying to jump the gun,” O’Hearn said. “That [Orioles] team, a lot of things went right for us. There were some breakout seasons, young guys came up and played really well. I do think we have the potential to do something special like that.”