The Kansas City Royals have been active in the offseason market, that is for certain. Whether that massive trade is still stuck in the talking stage or that big free-agent bat has to wait, there’s still work to be done in the lineup.
But despite Kansas City’s needs, very few people seriously floated the idea of a reunion with former Royals outfielder Ryan O’Hearn. Now, the former Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres slugger reportedly has a new home and a bigger payday than the Royals were ever going to put on the table.
Ryan O’Hearn finds new contract, new team to finish rebound from Royals tenure
MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf reported Tuesday that the Pittsburgh Pirates signed O’Hearn to a two-year contract worth $29 million. While the club has not confirmed the deal, it would mark another impactful acquisition after Pittsburgh already added 2025 All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe earlier this offseason.
The Pirates were the league’s worst team in runs scored and OPS, so an aggressive response like this is exactly what their fanbase would expect and what that roster needed.
For all of the Royals’ limitations in free agency over the years, O’Hearn’s reported deal is so historic for Pittsburgh that it almost stings by comparison.
“O’Hearn would become the first free agent the Pirates have signed to a multiyear deal since Iván Nova in December 2016 (three years, $26 million),” Stumpf wrote. “This is also the largest free-agent deal the organization has ever given a position player.
Ever? Yeesh. At least the Royals have a handful of free-agent deals north of $50 million in their franchise history.
This is absolutely the right time for O’Hearn to cash in, especially after such an unheralded start to his career. The 32-year-old posted a career-best 127 wRC+ across 144 games split between the Orioles and Padres last season. He set career highs in home runs (17), runs scored (67), RBI (63) and wOBA (.349). It was the definition of a walk-year breakout for the Sam Houston State product.
Royals fans remember the first act. O’Hearn burst onto the scene in 2018, running red hot at the plate for an aimless Kansas City team. His 144 wRC+ in 44 games created outsized expectations heading into 2019.
But he never came close to matching that bar or the 1.0 fWAR he posted as a rookie. From 2019–2022, the Royals gave O’Hearn 298 games, and he responded with a 68 wRC+ and -2.4 fWAR in that span. By the time Kansas City finally moved on ahead of the 2023 season, fans were practically begging for the O’Hearn era to end.
And then, you know how the saying goes about a change of scenery.
O’Hearn didn’t miss a beat once he joined the Orioles, kicking off the first of three straight seasons with a 118 wRC+ and at least 1.5 fWAR. It was a stark contrast to his Royals tenure and left a lot of fans wondering what, exactly, their favorite team had failed to unlock while the lefty masher rebuilt his career elsewhere.
A reunion always felt unlikely, but some fans saw his outfield designation on FanGraphs or Baseball Savant and wondered if the outfield-needy Royals might make the call.
In reality, O’Hearn is a first baseman or designated hitter type at this point. He has never profiled as anything close to an average defender in left or right field. The Orioles and Padres did what they had to do: keep the bat in the lineup and live with the defensive limitations.
While the Pirates are emphatically reshaping their lineup after such a dreadful run-scoring season, the hope in Kansas City is that the Royals match that urgency in their own way. Adding outfielders Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas helps, but it still feels like this team is one no-doubt middle-of-the-order bat short of restoring full confidence before pitchers and catchers report.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kingsofkauffman.com ’
