Jose

Osuna

Osuna headed to Japan last winter and put up a .701 OPS with 14 home runs and 61 RBI over 122 games in his first taste of Nippon Professional Baseball. The former Pirates outfielder was a .241/.280/.430 hitter in parts of four MLB seasons.

The Pirates designated Osuna for assignment last week, and he’s found a new home relatively quickly. The 27-year-old hit just .205/.244/.397 last year with four homers and a 16/4 K/BB ratio in 82 plate appearances. The year before, however, Osuna hit 10 homers with a .756 OPS in 95 games. If Osuna hits well in Japan, it certainly seems likely that he could be back in an MLB role in a year or two.

This move comes as a bit of a surprise, as Osuna had a very productive season offensively in 2019 before seeing his production fall off of a cliff in 2020. During the truncated season, the 27-year-old slashed just .205/.244/.397 with four homers, 11 RBI and a 16/4 K/BB ratio over 82 plate appearances. It seems likely that he’ll refuse the outright assignment and explore his options on the free agent market.

Bell holds a highly disappointing .221/.296/.354 batting line with seven home runs and 19 RBI in 53 games played this year with Pittsburgh. Colin Moran is at first base Wednesday and Jose Osuna will DH.

Osuna, 27, takes the place of Cole Tucker, who was placed on the concussion list on Thursday. The infielder/outfielder has just a .401 OPS so far, and will provide no fantasy appeal over the final week and a half.

Osuna has managed just a .401 OPS this season. He might be playing his way into a non-tender this winter.

It’s just a day off for the first baseman. Colin Moran will handle first, Gregory Polanco is at designated hitter and Jose Osuna is in right field.

Osuna was just sent down a few days ago but finds himself back in the majors with Phillip Evans (jaw, concussion) going down. He should see some starts against lefties.

Osuna is off to a 3-for-19 start this season. He and Guillermo Heredia are headed out.

Osuna tagged Dakota Hudson for the two-run blast after teammate Colin Moran had homered two batters prior to tie the game. It would wind up being his only hit in four at-bats on the afternoon. He’s off to a 3-for-8 (.375) start to the season with a homer and four RBI through the first weekend.