Pirates' Ryan O'Hearn Adjusting to New Fielding Assignment
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates brought Ryan O'Hearn as their marquee free agent signing for his bat, but he will have more defensive responsibilities this season than previously thought.
O'Hearn has started five times in right field during Spring Training, the only position he's started in Grapefruit League games so far for the Pirates.
He spoke to Chris Young of MLB Network and said that he's working on becoming the Pirates' everyday right fielder and dealing with that.
O'Hearn has also worked with Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz and he hopes that every game he plays there, he'll get better each time.
"I just think it's time. I just think it's spending time out there with him. Getting those reps in Spring Training. It's still early. As much as I can get out there with him in center and me in right and we can kind of figure things out together, I think we'll be in a good spot."
Ryan O'Hearn's Defensive History
O'Hearn has spent the vast majority of his time in the major leagues at first base, with 334 starts in 385 games. He has also started 77 games and played 101 contests in right field and just 12 starts in 20 games in left field.
His struggles at first base were prevalent early in his career, but he made improvements this past season, with plus-six saved runs above average (rPM), plus-four defensive runs saved (DRS) and plus-five outs above average (OAA).
O'Hearn ranked amongst the top defensive first basemen in baseball in 2025, coming in at fifth in OAA and seventh in DRS for first baseman that played at least 500 innings.
He hasn't performed well defensively in the outfield, particularly in right field, where he has a minus-eight rPM, minus-11 DRS and minus-three OAA.
How This Impacts the Pirates in 2026
O'Hearn's best position is at first base, but it's likely he gets moved out of there for other options next season.
Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz had a solid season and was average at first base, but that's his main position, unless they want him at second base at times.
Marcell Ozuna, who the Pirates signed last month as a free agent, will serve, exclusively, as the Pirates designated hitter.
This means that O'Hearn will play mostly in right field with Bryan Reynolds moving back to left field, where he struggled immensely in 2024, with -5 defensive runs saved (DRS) and -9 outs above average (OAA).
He'll also have to form a great partnership with Cruz, who also had his issues in center field last season, but great moments as well.
Cruz worked with four-time Gold Glove award winner in former center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, this offseason, which should see improvements for him defensively in 2026.
The Pirates brought O'Hearn in for his bat, averaging around 15 home runs and an .800 OPS these past three seasons, so if he can have a strong defensive showing, he'll play a big role in them making a run at the playoffs.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.