Veteran slugger Marcell Ozuna embraces a new role, guiding emerging Pittsburgh Pirates talent and sharing crucial lessons from his extensive baseball journey.
Marcell Ozuna is one of three veterans added to the Pittsburgh Pirates' lineup during the offseason. However, the slugger is more interested in the youth on his new team’s roster.
And the 35-year-old Ozuna would like to serve as a mentor to his younger teammates, as he is in his 14th season in the major leagues.
"They are learning every day how they play the game, and I think I can mostly help the younger guys learn and keep helping them get better," Ozuna told Pirates Roundtable.
Ozuna advises his younger teammates to prepare for every game, believing that everything else will fall into place.
"You can’t take a day off," Ozuna said. "You must be prepared every day. I didn’t fully understand that early in my career."
Ozuna made his major-league debut in 2013 with the Miami Marlins. His 12-plus years of major-league service time are the most of any Pirates player.
Pittsburgh signed Ozuna to a one-year, $12-million contrate primarily because it feels he can add power to a lineup that finished last in the majors in runs scored and home runs last season. Ozuna has 296 career home runs and went deep 40 times for the Atlanta Braves in 2023 and 39 in 2024.
That total dropped to 21 last season due to a sore hip that bothered Ozuna most of the year.
“I feel a lot better,” Ozuna said. “It doesn’t hurt when I swing the bat.”
While offseason additions Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn have made immediate contributions, Ozuna is off to a slow start through the first four games of the season. He is 1 for 12.
Lowe is 6 for 14 with one double and three home runs, while O’Hearn is 7 for 16 with one homer.
The Pirates are confident that Ozuna can help their offense, even though PNC Park can be difficult on right-handed hitters, and he has hit only one home run in 156 career plate appearances on the banks of the Allegheny River. However, Ozuna is undaunted.
“I feel like I can hit the ball out of any ballpark,” Ozuna said.
Pirates manager Don Kelly is happy with how Ozuna has taken mercurial center fielder Oneil Cruz under his wing. Cruz has consistently frustrated the Pirates with inconsistency, and they feel Ozuna, a fellow Dominican Republic native, will be a good influence.
"Ozuna will be great for Cruz and for everyone in the clubhouse," Kelly said. "His positive energy and demeanor will certainly rub off on Oneil."
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