The Pittsburgh Pirates certainly got a facelift this offseason, but heading into the season, there are also certainly still some question marks, and the outfield group is one of them.
With all the moves that the Pirates made in the offseason, they failed to find a dominant outfield presence. MLB.com released their lineup projections for the 2026 season and have Ryan O’Hearn slated to play left field. While O’Hearn is certainly more versatile than the average first baseman, he is not good enough to be a permanent fixture in the outfield, especially not left field. PNC Park’s left field is vast, with deep left center spanning all the way out to 410 feet. O’Hearn also only played in left twice in 2025 and never played there in more than eight games in a season. The 32-year-old slugger will be a welcomed addition to the lineup, but should not be the everyday left fielder.
Former All-Star Bryan Reynolds is projected to be the Pirates’ right fielder on opening day, as it is the position that he played exclusively in 2025 with 117 games under his belt. Reynolds is by far the best defender amongst the starting outfielders, and really could play anywhere in the field.
Reynolds had an up and down 2025 season and reflected on that in September.
“It was frustrating because I was actually hitting the ball pretty well,” Reynolds said. “But like I said, I’m happy that it’s gotten better as the year’s gone on.”
Realistically Reynolds makes the most sense to be the team’s left fielder and O’Hearn would certainly be a much better fit in PNC Park’s right field. Reynolds will look to bounce back to prime form and get back to the way he was hitting in the back half of the 2025 season, but is always a threat as a switch hitter in Pittsburgh’s lineup.
Back in centerfield for the Pirates will be Oneil Cruz who has the distinction of being a top-ten-centerfielder in baseball. 2025 was Cruz’ first year as a full time outfielder, and it certainly showed at times. The 27-year-old Dominican standout committed 11 errors in center in 2025 but did show flashes of potential throughout the year. His incredible speed and arm strength are finally being put to consistent use by him being in the outfield, and there were plenty of highlights to see from Cruz.
Cruz’ participation in this year’s World Baseball Classic is an opportunity for him to get some extra at bats early on, while also being able to soak up as much information about being a big league centerfielder. It feels like Cruz is so close to figuring it out and being an absolute problem for opposing pitchers, but a lot of work will need to be done to improve upon a below average season at the dish. Cruz finished with 20 homers but also had a lowly .200 batting average.
Pittsburgh’s platoon outfielders will include familiar faces like Billy Cook and Jack Suwinski, while also including some new talent like Jake Mangum, Jhostynxon Garcia and prospect Esmerlyn Valdez. Dominic Fletcher and Mitch Jebb are non-roster-invitees to Spring Training in Bradenton as well.
The Pirates’ outfield group at its core is not bad, but arguably not great. With the way that the team is constructed around the starting pitchers Pittsburgh will need to play lights out defense because their offense is likely still just a step behind other teams in that department. This is an average to slightly above average outfield defensively, but likely not an anchor on the team as a whole. This group will be defined by their offensive output first and foremost, but will be successful if they can live at that average defensive rating.
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