Pirates release DH Marcell Ozuna in midst of woeful season

Field Level Media|published: Wed 5th August, 22:51 2026

Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Marcell Ozuna (24) high fives teammates after scoring on a base hit by Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis (32) in the sixth inning between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Saturday, August 1, 2026.

The Pittsburgh Pirates released designated hitter Marcell Ozuna on Wednesday, less than six months after the team signed him to a one-year, $12 million contract.

The Pirates called utility man Ronny Simon up from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Ozuna's roster spot.

Simon, 26, hit .330 with seven homers, 63 RBIs and 33 stolen bases in 99 games at Indianapolis. He came off the bench for his major league season debut on Wednesday and went 0-for-1 with a walk in Pittsburgh's 4-2 road loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Ozuna didn't provide much bang for his buck in Pittsburgh, batting .203 with eight homers and 29 RBIs to go along with 80 strikeouts in 70 games this season.

"We believed he could make a contribution to our team with the bat and also inside our clubhouse with our players around how he approaches his at-bats," Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told reporters on Wednesday. "We just never got there on the first part. The part on the field just didn't work out. We'll take responsibility for that. We just never got there."

Ozuna, 35, batted .232 with 21 homers and 68 RBIs in 145 games last season with the Atlanta Braves. Those numbers took a significant dip after the three-time All-Star hit .302 with 39 homers and 104 RBIs in 162 games in 2024.

A two-time Silver Slugger and a former Gold Glove winner, Ozuna is a career .267 hitter with 304 homers, 977 RBIs and 1,678 hits in 1,684 games with the Miami Marlins (2013-17), St. Louis Cardinals (2018-19), Braves (2020-25) and Pirates.

--Field Level Media