Ryan O'Hearn

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Ryan Patrick O'Hearn

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Biographical Information[edit]

Ryan O'Hearn made his major league debut with the Kansas City Royals on July 31, 2018, four years after having been an 8th-round pick in the 2014 amateur draft out of Sam Houston State University. He had a good debut, going 1 for 3, with the hit a home run in a 4-2 win over the Chicago White Sox. He also drew a walk, scored 2 runs and drive in 2 while playing DH. However, things went sour after that and heading into his 8th game on August 13th, he was hitting just .130. He reversed that with another solid game; in this one he drove in all three runs in a 3-1 Royals win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Facing Sean Reid-Foley, who was making his big league debut, he hit a two-run opposite field homer in the 2nd, then in the 4th drew a bases-loaded walk. He played a lot better from that point on, finishing the year at .262 with 10 doubles, 12 homers, 23 runs and 30 RBIs in 44 games, good for an OPS+ of 155. He was named to the 2018 Topps All-Star Rookie Team as a result.

He played with the Royals until the end of the 2022 season but failed to build on his strong rookie performance. He topped 100 games only once in his five-year tenure in Kansas City, in 2019, but batted just .195 that year, his OPS+ tumbling to 69. He was below the Mendoza line again in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and batted just .225 and .239 respectively the next two years, with a combined 10 homers only over those two seasons. He did a lot better after moving to the Baltimore Orioles in 2023, when he batted .289 with 14 homers and 60 RBIs in 112 games, for an OPS+ of 122. He made his postseason debut that year, going 1 for 5 as the O's were swept by the Texas Rangers in the Division Series. He had another good year in 2024 when he batted .264 in 142 games with 15 homers and 59 RBIs for an OPS+ of 119. The Orioles were a team chock-full of exciting young hitters at the time, so he had a fairly low profile. He returned to the postseason that year but only had two at-bats, one resulting in a hit, as the Birds made another quick exit, being swept in two games by his former team the Royals in the Wild Card Series.

He made the All-Star team as a member of the Orioles in 2025 in what was a case of his having a good season on a team that badly underperformed expectations, finishing last in the AL East when it was expected to compete for a division title. He was 31 years old by then and after hitting .283 with 13 homers and 43 RBIs in 94 games as a first baseman and designated hitter for the Orioles, he was traded to the San Diego Padres at the trading deadline on July 31st, alongside OF Ramon Laureano, another veteran who did not figure in Baltimore's long-term plans. The Orioles received no fewer than six players in return for the two, although all were a long way from making their major league debut. Both players acquired by the Padres did well over the final months of the season, with Ryan batting .276 with 4 homers and 20 RBIs in 50 games, to finish at .281 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs overall, and an OPS+ of 125. He then went 2 for 9 in the Wild Card Series, which the Padres lost to the Chicago Cubs.

He signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 2026 season. Amazingly, he was the Bucs' first free agent signing with a multiyear contract since Iván Nova in 2016. He was the starting right fielder on Opening Day, March 26th against the New York Mets, going 2 for 4 with a homer. He got off to a good start as he was hitting .306 and slugging .481 by the end of April. He missed the second half of May with an injury, but kept on hitting after his return and on July 7th had a historic night in a 12-4 win over the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. It started with a grand slam off Hurston Waldrep in the bottom of the 1st, followed by a three-run homer off Waldrep in the 3rd and another three-run shot, this one off reliever Connor Thomas in the 6th. He then singled in the 8th off position player Jorge Mateo, at which point he gave way to pinch-runner Billy Cook. His ten RBIs on the night set a new franchise record; the previous mark had been 9 RBIs by Johnny Rizzo back in !1939.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Thomas Harrigan: "Once DFA'd, now a potential Trade Deadline X-factor", mlb.com, June 18, 2025. [1]
  • Brent Maguire: "From DFA’d to producing like one of MLB’s best hitters: Ryan O’Hearn has found his groove in Baltimore", mlb.com, May 2, 2024. [2]
  • Aiden Stepansky: "3 homers, 10 RBIs ... by the 6th inning!? What a night for O'Hearn", mlb.com, July 8, 2026. [3]
  • Alex Stumpf: "Pirates land lefty bat in All-Star O'Hearn on 2-year deal", mlb.com, December 23, 2025. [4]

Related Sites[edit]

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