The Pirates' home run crown could come down to three new faces

When looking back at the Pittsburgh Pirates' season last year, pitching was not a problem. During the regular season, they compiled a 3.76 team ERA, which ranked them seventh across MLB. 

Where the team struggled was on the offensive side of things. They had a team batting average of .231, which ranked them 28th across MLB.

It was clear that the club needed to get some offense over the offseason. And that is exactly what the front office did. 

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The Pirates' home run crown could come down to two new faces

Noticing their lack of offense, the front office stayed busy throughout the winter. They added some names that should help them push more runs across the board during the 2026 season. 

Pittsburgh acquired Brandon Lowe in a three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros. They also signed Ryan O'Hearn to a two-year deal and acquired Marcell Ozuna on a one-year contract to take over the designated hitter role. 

Bleacher Report's Joel Retuer suggests that Pittsburgh's offense will be led by one of these three this year. 

"The Pirates ranked last in the majors with 117 home runs in 162 games last season, and they set about rectifying that with a busy offseason headlined by the additions of Brandon Lowe, Marcell Ozuna, and Ryan O'Hearn. After launching 31 home runs last year to earn his second All-Star selection, Lowe is the best bet to sit atop the Pittsburgh leaderboard."

At the end of the day, Reuter believes that Lowe has what it takes to stand as the Pirates' home run leader for the 2026 season. 

That could very well be the case as he has been one of the most consistent left-handed power hitters in the game, but has been hampered by various injuries over the past few years.

More MLB news:

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• MLB analyst makes the case for Kerry Carpenter to carry Detroit offensively
• New walls and goals for Royals' star Bobby Witt Jr. in Kansas City
• Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery set to duel for South Side home run crown