For years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been the farthest thing from a threat in the NL Central. Pittsburgh hasn’t finished better than 4th place in the five-team division since 2016, when their 78-83 record was still not anything to write home about. However, the team that the Milwaukee Brewers have counted on for several easy wins in each of the last few seasons might finally be turning a corner.

With a young pitching staff headed by Paul Skenes and reinforced by names like Jared Jones, Bubba Chandler, and Mitch Keller, the Pirates desperately needed to add some offense to their roster this winter. After finishing dead last in runs scored, home runs, and more analytical measures like weighted on-base average (wOBA) and weighted runs created (wRC), Pittsburgh at least had a clear goal entering the 2025-26 offseason: add a few impact bats to their 2026 lineup.

The issue, however, is the Pirates’ ownership group, led by principal owner Bob Nutting, has notoriously not spent the money necessary to build a formidable team in Pittsburgh in the recent past. Not only has the organization yet to surpass the three-year, $39 million contract they gave Francisco Liriano more than a decade ago in terms of total money given to one free agent, but they also, up until moments ago, hadn’t given out a multi-year deal since December of 2016, as reported by “Talkin’ Baseball” on the social media platform X.

Before Ryan O’Hearn’s two-year, $29 million contract, the last free agent the Pirates had signed to a multi-year deal was Ivan Nova for three years and $26 million in December 2016 pic.twitter.com/ZtRc2GQPiX

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) December 23, 2025

As revealed in the graphic above, Pittsburgh is finally ready to spend some money, agreeing to a two-year, $29 million contract with free agent first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, as first reported by FanSided’s own Robert Murray. However, O’Hearn isn’t the first big addition that Pittsburgh has made to their offense this winter. Rather, O’Hearn’s signing follows savvy trades from the Pirates’ GM Ben Cherington that, paired with the addition of a slugging veteran first baseman, could actually lead to the Pittsburgh being a competitive team in 2026.

Pirates follow trades for Jhostynxon García and Brandon Lowe with signing of Ryan O’Hearn, completely reshaping their offense for 2026

Earlier this offseason, the Pirates swung a deal with the Boston Red Sox, acquiring a top outfield prospect in Jhostynxon García in exchange for starting pitcher Johan Oviedo. Though García still holds his prospect status, he did make his MLB debut for the Red Sox last season, but collected just seven at-bats. More than likely, he will be an everyday outfielder for the Buccos in 2026, offering an intriguing, high-upside profile to a Pirates’ lineup that needs any hope it can get.

Then, just last Friday, Cherington swung another deal, this time acquiring slugging left-handed second-baseman Brandon Lowe from the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-team trade that also landed outfielder Jake Magnum and left-hander Mason Montgomery in Pittsburgh. The Pirates had only to surrender right-hander Mike Burrows to get the deal done, leading many to deem the trade a rare “fleece” on Pittsburgh’s end.

Lowe is the impact bat Pittsburgh was searching for. After crushing 39 homers during the 2021 campaign and missing much of the 2022 season with injury, Lowe has posted home run totals of 21, 21, and 31 in each of the last three seasons. His 31-homer season last year also included the second All-Star Game appearance of his career. With Lowe set to become a free agent at the end of the season for the first time in his career, expect some added motivation as he enters the 2026 season with the Pirates.

Meanwhile, O’Hearn is a name Brewers fans were calling for their team to acquire at the trade deadline last season. In the midst of an All-Star season himself, the first of his career, O’Hearn crushed 17 homers and 21 doubles in 144 games split between the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres. Though he’s not yet eclipsed the 20-homer mark in his career, O’Hearn, at his best, is another impact bat added to the Pirates’ lineup for the 2026 season.

The question still remains: is it enough to get Pittsburgh out of the bottom tier in the NL Central? It’s certainly possible, especially with the rebuild that is ongoing in St. Louis, but Brewers fans likely still fall in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” category. Regardless, whether it’s simply a means to avoid a grievance from the MLBPA, which was cited as a reason for the Athletics spending surprising money last offseason, or it’s a change of heart from Nutting and his colleagues, should Pittsburgh once again find themselves in their familiar last spot in the division in 2026, it, for once, won’t be due to a lack of support from the ownership group.