Marcell Ozuna Reportedly Released by Pirates After Signing $12M Contract in MLB Free Agency

Marcell Ozuna's time with the Pittsburgh Pirates is reportedly over before one full season.

MLB insider Mike Rodriguez reported Wednesday the Pirates released the veteran after they agreed to a one-year, $12 million deal last offseason. ESPN's Jorge Castillo confirmed Pittsburgh is moving on from Ozuna.

This comes after Pittsburgh was particularly aggressive ahead of Monday's MLB trade deadline.

The Pirates added Luke Weaver, Kirby Yates, Lake Bachar and Camilo Doval as they attempt to remain within striking distance of a National League wild-card spot. They're 3.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for that final spot, although they'd also have to jump the San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins to reach the postseason.

Ozuna didn't provide much help in those efforts.

He's slashing .203/.286/.327 with eight home runs and 29 RBI in 70 games this season. According to Baseball Reference, he has been worth -1.0 wins above replacement.

Given that lack of production, it may not come as much of a surprise the Pirates decided to move on ahead of the stretch run as they needed to make roster moves. Still, they committed $12 million to him this past offseason.

It's safe to say it didn't work out even if the track record was in place to suggest Ozuna could have at least provided more power.

He launched 40 home runs in 2023 and 39 in 2024 when he was a member of the Atlanta Braves and also led the league with 18 long balls during the shortened 2020 campaign. In all, he has nine seasons with more than 20 home runs on his resume.

However, the 35-year-old was nowhere near that productive in Pittsburgh and is now on the way out as a result.