Pirates’ Ryan O’Hearn Brings Unique Boost in Return From Injury

There are plenty of reasons the Pittsburgh Pirates should be thankful to have Ryan O’Hearn back in the lineup as the team activated him off the injured list ahead of their series against the Chicago Cubs.

Obviously, O’Hearn will bring some much-needed pop to the middle of a lineup that’s been in desperate need of some more offensive production. The 33-year-old has had a respectable first season with the Pirates, logging a .788 OPS with 17 home runs in just over 350 at-bats.

That said, the veteran also brings other value back to the clubhouse with his return to the active roster: leadership and experience, especially in the middle of a playoff hunt.

The Pirates are still relatively young and inexperienced when it comes to playing meaningful games this late in the season, but O’Hearn has done it several times throughout his career.

That type of experience can’t go overlooked, and manager Don Kelly alluded to that, too.

“He's such a leader, and there's no doubt that the guys feed off of that and look to him for that,” the Pirates skipper said.

"Just the leadership ability, the stability that he brings, and the fierce competitor that he is. He's been through the ups and downs. He understands the grind, and he has never given up on himself, and he's not going to. So he's just going to keep pushing, and that's what we need to do as a team too.”

Ahead of Thursday’s game, O’Hearn said his goal is to simply “come in and help out where I can. Keep these good vibes going.”

“There’s time left in the season and, if you would have told me on, you know, July 31st when this happened that I was going to get a chance to come back and play in the middle of September in meaningful baseball, I would have definitely taken that deal.”

Even after a brutal August, the Pirates’ playoff hopes aren’t lost yet. It’ll take a lot of help from opposing teams, but there’s still a path for Pittsburgh to be playing October baseball, albeit a slim one.

Still, getting O’Hearn back in the lineup and back with the team could be the mental and talent boost Pittsburgh needs to go on a run over the final few weeks of the season, and potentially even punch their ticket to the playoffs.