Weekly Report: HAVE A HEALTHY & HAPPY NEW YEAR - Bucs Ink Ryan O'Hearn, NRIs To Camp, Ex-Bucs On The Move

Have a healthy & healthy New Year...

Pirates Stuff:

• Free-agent 1B/DH/OF Ryan O’Hearn, 32, inked a two-year/$29M contract with the Bucs, including $500K in performance bonuses available each season, a bit over in his projected price range. Last year, the lefty hit .281 with 21 doubles, 17 homers and 63 RBI in 144 games for Baltimore & San Diego without much of a L/R split, and the Pirates are hoping he's outgrown his platoon rap and be an everyday player. His official  signing is still to occur as he just became a father, and family always comes first. It'll be interesting to see how they blend him, Brandon Lowe and Spencer Horwitz...
• The Pirates announced their first wave of camp NRIs - RHPs Beau Burrows/Noah Murdock, LHPs Joe LaSorsa/Oddanier Mosquedo, OFs Ronny Simon/Dominic Fletcher and IF Davis Wendzell.

MLB Stuff:

• OF Corey Dickerson, who was a Gold Glover with the Pirates in 2018, is now the 1B coach for the Rays. In 2018-19, his Pittsburgh line was .303/17/80 with a 123 OPS+. He last played for the Nats in 2023.
• C Christian Bethancourt, who the Bucs stashed at Indy in 2021 as insurance, signed a minor league deal with the Cubs.
• IF Michael Chavis, a Bucco from 2021-22 (.242/15/54 line) signed a minor league deal with Cincy. He played in Japan in'25.
• OF Alexander Canario signed with the Saitama Seibu Lions. The Bucs hoped he would add some muscle to the lineup last year, but he hit .218 w/six HR and 80 K in 234 PAs while getting into 87 games.