Marcell Ozuna snapping slump could change everything for the Pirates

It took 12 games with his new team, but Marcell Ozuna finally had a multi-hit performance against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. That came after a much-needed day off against a tough right-hander (Cade Cavalli), and it earned Ozuna another shot at the five hole on Wednesday (when he went 1-for-4 with his second RBI in as many games).

Slow starts are nothing new for the designated hitter; in 2023, he opened the year with a .071 batting average through mid-April. A few off days led to a reset, and he turned the ship around to produce 40 home runs and a 140 wRC+.

No one's expecting that kind of turnaround in 2026 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but anything would be better than nothing, and even that's better than the -0.6 fWAR he's contributed to the cause this year. The underlying data has been foretelling better results for some time, though, which gives credence to the idea that Ozuna may be on the verge of breaking free from his ugly slump.

Pirates need Marcell Ozuna's bat to wake up in order to keep hot start in tact

Much has been said about Ozuna's slow start to his tenure with the Pirates — even after his 2-for-4 effort, he owns a -5 wRC+ — but any kind of life from his bat would go a long way toward propping up the bottom of the lineup.

At the moment, the Bucs are getting huge contributions from the top four in their lineup: Oneil Cruz (173 wRC+), Brandon Lowe (191), Bryan Reynolds (139), and Ryan O'Hearn (146) have all been well-above-average hitters to this point in the season.

The problem is that just about everyone in the bottom half of the order is searching for consistency. Nick Yorke (.738 OPS) has been better than expected as the new everyday third baseman, but Spencer Horwitz (94 wRC+), Konnor Griffin (52), and the catching tandem of Henry Davis (85) and Joey Bart (42) are all swinging subpar bats.

Not every hitter on the depth chart is going to hit above league-average rates, but there's a huge difference between having five or six above-average bats and only four. The length of a lineup is oftentimes just as important as the actual names in it, which is why a near-prime Ozuna is so crucial to keeping the Pirates' hot start going.

Only time will tell if he's truly busted out of his nasty funk, but that multi-hit performance against Washington could mark the turning point of the season if he does.

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