Pirates cut Ozuna, opening the DH spot with 47 games left

Pittsburgh released Marcell Ozuna on Tuesday, ending a rough tenure for the veteran designated hitter who was hitting .203 with 8 home runs on the season. He came in on a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2027; neither side will be exercising it.

The Pirates are 55-60 and 5.5 games back of the last wild card, so there's not much margin for a lineup spot that isn't producing. Ozuna's power never materialized the way the organization needed it to, and with 47 games left, carrying a bat hitting .203 at DH is a luxury a bubble team can't afford.

The move also comes the day after Mitch Keller was placed on the 60-day IL and declared out for the season, so the front office has had a busy two days of subtraction. The bullpen additions of Weaver and Doval last week addressed one real need; cutting Ozuna addresses another, even if it just clears space rather than fills it. Who gets those at-bats going forward is the open question — Billy Cook has shown some pop in limited time this month, and the depth chart has options, but nothing obvious steps into a full-time DH role.

Small move, clean logic. The roster is tighter now than it was 72 hours ago.