Pirates' horrific outfield defense keeps pointing back to one impossible solution

The Pittsburgh Pirates gambled this offseason by trading defense for offense after their lineup put up one of the most pitiful performances in recent memory last season. In certain cases, such as that of Brandon Lowe, the club's wildest expectations have been exceeded as the offense has played up and the defense has been shockingly better than expected. In other cases, such as in the outfield, the trade-off is proving to be an Achilles heel.

One thing you can say about the Pirates' outfield defense is that it has been consistent. Consistently bad. Through May 18, Pittsburgh outfielders rank 27th in defensive runs saved with a mark of -9 and are tied for dead last with -7 outs above average. They also come in ranked 29th in fielding run value at -8.

Oneil Cruz still struggles in center, but his athleticism might make him better than his mates in the corners, as both Ryan O'Hearn and Bryan Reynolds have been awful as well.

Though his metrics aren't great in a small sample, getting the speedy Jake Mangum back will help the Pirates cover some ground, though another defensively competent option might also be needed at the trade deadline. In the meantime, there is a small fix that Pittsburgh can employ.

Moving on from Marcell Ozuna would free up the DH spot to house Bryan Reynolds, who might be the worst with the glove of the starting trio. Such a move makes all the sense in the world, since the "production" the Pirates have gotten from Ozuna has been laughable, but despite being so obvious, it feels like a pipedream.

Ditching Marcell Ozuna is the key to fixing the Pirates' outfield defense, but Ben Cherington won't pull the trigger

We're well past waiting for Ozuna to heat up with the bat. The veteran slugger has been given 38 games and 162 plate appearances to prove his worth. In that time, he's slashed just .188/.278/.326 with five homers.

When you provide no defensive value and your sole job is to hit, putting up a .604 OPS isn't going to cut it. The underlying metrics don't paint a rosy picture either. While they suggest a slightly better performance from the hulking DH, he's still not hitting the ball particularly hard, nor is he doing anything truly above average. His expected batting average is .225, and his expected slugging percentage is .407, which is good for an xwOBA of .316. That's still below average.

Ozuna has siphoned off a -0.6 fWAR from the Pirates thus far, threatening to be horrendously below average by season's end. The Pirates owe him the remainder of his $10.5 million base salary, plus a million buyout should they cut him loose. Either way, one needs to look at that money as a sunk cost. That's clear to everyone... except Ben Cherington.

As per Jason Mackey of MLB.com, Cherington believes that Ozuna provides significant value off the field (wild, considering his past off-field issues), and wants to give him enough runway to get things right.

“He’s definitely going to have runway,” Cherington said. “I don’t think it’s a stress point right now because on the days Donnie has decided he’s going to put someone else out there and give him a day, he’s a total pro. There’s no change. He’s part of the team. We are excited he’s a part of the team. Over the course of the season, we believe the numbers will be there."

Again, he's had 162 plate appearances of runway, and is coming off a year in which he showed significant decline with the bat. Furthermore, his presence on the roster is indirectly hurting the team defensively because of the limitations of other players.

Maybe the franchise does an about-face on Ozuna closer to the trade deadline, but by that point, the defensive deficiencies might have cost them too many games to stay in the race.

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