Pirates Hoping Additions to Offense Are Enough to Contend

The Pirates got both Lowe and Mangum in the same trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. Lowe is an experienced slugger. His 151 home runs since his 2019 rookie campaign trail just Ketel Marte and Jose Altuve among all second basemen. Last year, he batted .256/.306/.477 with a 114 wRC+. Lowe crushed 31 dingers over 553 plate appearances, with a .221 isolated slugging percentage. The downside is that he walked at a career-low 6.9% rate, and his K% sat at 26.9%. Still, Lowe has been one of the best power-hitting middle infielders in the game.

Mangum had a surprise age-29 rookie season. He slashed .296/.330/.368 with a 95 wRC+ over 428 plate appearances. Most of Mangum’s value comes from his speed and baserunning. He was in the 91st percentile of sprint speed and swiped 27 bags. He also rarely struck out with a 15% strikeout rate. The downside is he brings very little, if any, power to the table, with .072 ISO last season. He does not walk often either, with 4.4% of his plate appearances ending in a free pass. Still, his OBP would have been tied for the fourth-best on the Pirates last year among hitters with 300+ plate appearances. An above-average mark with his speed could be a deadly combination. Plus, Mangum could be an excellent table-setter.

The Bucs finally signed a multi-year deal this offseason, as they gave first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn a two-year contract. O’Hearn has been one of baseball’s more underrated batters since his 2023 breakout. Last year, with the Baltimore Orioles and the San Diego Padres, O’Hearn slashed .281/.366/.437 with a career-high 17 home runs over 544 plate appearances. His home run total wasn’t the only career-best mark O’Hearn had. His 127 wRC+ and .349 wOBA were two more career-high watermarks for the left-handed hitter.

How the Rest of the Pirates Look

All four of the batters the Pirates added have the potential to be a league-average bat or better. Last year, Spencer Horwitz and Joey Bart were the only Pirates hitters with 300+ plate appearances and a 100+ wRC+. Both O’Hearn and Lowe have had at least three consecutive seasons with a wRC+ over 110. Garcia was a consensus top 100 prospect at the end of 2025, and Mangum was only 5% worse than average by way of wRC+. However, his baserunning contributions definitely helped make up for that small gap between his wRC+ and the league average.

Another thing to factor in is that the Pirates have ridded themselves of multiple below-average hitters compared to last season. Tommy Pham, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Ke’Bryan Hayes all appeared in 100+ games for the Bucs with a wRC+ below 95. Lastly, the newly added bats should help protect some of the Pirates’ more talented hitters. Both Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz have performed much better in the past than in 2025, and the underlying numbers suggest there is more in the tank. Having veterans like Lowe and O’Hearn could also take some pressure off of rookies like Garcia and consensus number one prospect Konnor Griffin.

The Last Word

The Pirates have made some significant improvements to the offense compared to last year. Of course, there are still some major ifs, like if both Cruz and Reynolds can rebound, and if Garcia, and especially Griffin, can live up to the hype surrounding them. However, they’ve given all four players a chance at being good at the plate in 2026. It may end up being just enough for them to allow their pitching staff to win many more ballgames last year.