After long-standing links to the New York Mets, first baseman Ryan O’Hearn has signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on a two-year, $29 million contract.

Until recently, the former Padres star was viewed as a perfect first base option for the Mets’ 2026 campaign. However, the Mets were unable to land him, and that hasn’t gone over well with fans in New York.

Meanwhile, for the Pirates, their lineup has skewed heavily to the left side now. Between Oneil Cruz, Brandon Lowe, and O’Hearn, the Pirates are without true right-handed threats. They could still fix that imbalance, though, as the team has been frequently linked to Kazuma Okamoto in the recent span.

As for O’Hearn, across his eight MLB seasons, including a five-year run with the Royals, he has held a career .252 average, but his production has taken a jump in recent years. Since the start of 2023, he’s hitting .277 with 46 home runs and 182 RBIs.

Moving forward, he’ll be playing half his games in a park where the 21-foot Clemente Wall sits just 320 feet from home plate. That kind of conditions could suit his bat quite well. And who knows, he may have considered that as well.

Over all, Ryan O’Hearn has put together impressive numbers this past season. He had hit a slash line of .283/.374/.463 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs across 94 games with the Baltimore Orioles. At the trade deadline, he was dealt along with Ramón Laureano to San Diego.

With the Padres, he continued to produce. He held a slash line of .276/.350/.387 with four homers and 20 RBIs across 50 games.

Coming off a solid defensive year, he could’ve provided the Mets with value on both sides of the ball. And since 2025 marked his best MLB season in eight years, Mets fans are frustrated that David Stearns couldn’t bring him to Queens.

Mets fans fume as David Stearns misses out on Ryan O’Hearn

“No longer trying to make sense of the Mets’ offseason and just accepting what happens,” a fan disappointingly noted. With the offseason well underway, it’s hard to argue that the Mets are in a better spot than where they started.

Closer Edwin Díaz is gone, signing a three-year, $69 million deal with the Dodgers. Pete Alonso followed, landing in Baltimore on a five-year, $155 million contract. The bullpen, on the other hand, has been stripped down further with the free-agent losses of Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers, and Gregory Soto.

And to add to the frustration, New York has now missed out on Ryan O’Hearn as well. Another one echoed the same sentiment: “The pirates and White Sox fans now have more to look forward to than the Mets fans do.”

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This move involving Ryan O’Hearn is the latest in what’s been an active winter for the Pirates. Only last week, they added second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum, and left-hander Mason Montgomery in a three-team trade. And that’s why Mets fans went on to say, “Pirates more aggressive in free agency than the Mets!”

“Not moved by this” another fan quipped. Instead of adding players like Ryan O’Hearn, David Stearns has gotten rid of half of the team’s well-known players this offseason. And it hasn’t gone over well with the fanbase “Stearns missed another one. I hate it”