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Ozuna is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.
The veteran slugger will receive the afternoon off after he started the Pirates' first two games of the season and went 1-for-9 with a walk. With Ozuna on the bench, Bryan Reynolds will cede left field to Jake Mangum and shift to designated hitter.
Pirates' Marcell Ozuna: Lands $12 million deal with Pirates
Rotowire
The Pirates signed Ozuna to a one-year, $10.5 million contract Monday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports. The deal includes a $16 million mutual option or $1.5 million buyout for 2027.
Ozuna produced a disappointing .232/.355/.400 batting line with 21 home runs over 145 games for Atlanta in 2025. However, a nagging hip injury was likely at least partly to blame, and he is just a year removed from a 39-homer season. Ozuna will slide into the designated hitter role in Pittsburgh, likely pushing Ryan O'Hearn to left field and Jake Mangum to a fourth outfielder role.
Ozuna went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a pair of walks in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Nationals.
Ozuna cut Atlanta's deficit to 4-2 in the eighth inning with a 404-foot blast off Jackson Rutledge. It was Ozuna's 21st homer of the year and his first in 33 games. It's been a disappointing year overall for the 34-year-old Ozuna, though he's swung the bat better of late, going 13-for-42 (.310) with an .884 OPS in his last 12 contests.
Ozuna isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Detroit.
Ozuna will retreat to the dugout Saturday after going 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Friday's series opener. Drake Baldwin will replace him as Atlanta's designated hitter, allowing Sandy Leon to start at catcher.
Ozuna went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI in Wednesday's 9-4 win over the Nationals.
The veteran DH has fallen to eighth in the order in most of Atlanta's recent lineups, but he was able to make an impact from that spot Wednesday with a two-run single in the sixth inning and an RBI double in the eighth. The RBI were his first since Aug. 26, and Ozuna has gone 28 games without a home run, leaving him stalled at 20 on the season. His bat has been showing signs of life of late, however -- he's batting .360 (9-for-25) over his last seven contests with four doubles.
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