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As the Pittsburgh Pirates fight to stay in the NL Wild Card race, their lineup is getting one final boost for the home stretch.
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Prior to Friday’s series opener at Wrigley Field, the Pirates announced that left-handed slugger Ryan O’Hearn was activated from the 10-day injured list following a month-long absence. In a corresponding move, outfielder Ronny Simon was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.
ROSTER MOVES: Today we reinstated 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn from the 10-day IL and optioned OF Ronny Simon to Triple-A Indianapolis.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 11, 2026
O’Hearn, 33, has been sidelined since the beginning of August due to a left quad strain. He previously missed two weeks in May with a right quad injury.
So far in his first season with Pittsburgh, O’Hearn has produced a .270/.334/.454 slash line over 398 plate appearances. Despite being limited to just 96 games, he is still tied for third on the team in home runs (17) and second in RBIs (69).
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O’Hearn was excellent in the first half, batting .288/.351/.487 with an .838 OPS. The lefty slugger struggled after the All-Star break, however, posting a .501 OPS in 14 games before landing on the injured list. He is now returning on the early end of the expected six-to-eight-week absence.
3 HOME RUNS
10 RBI
WHAT A NIGHT FOR RYAN O’HEARN 🤯 pic.twitter.com/2vHvxtW2Nr
— MLB (@MLB) July 8, 2026
O’Hearn began a rehab assignment Tuesday with Indianapolis and went 1-for-3 with a double while playing seven innings at first base. He took four more at-bats as a designated hitter Wednesday, his only other rehab game before being activated.
Simon, 26, received only one plate appearance after being recalled Sunday. He has gone 9-for-32 (.281) with two RBIs in 10 games with Pittsburgh this season. In 115 Triple-A contests, he has produced a .334/.426/.472 slash line with seven home runs, 72 RBIs and 35 stolen bases.
The Pirates (74-73) enter Friday sitting 4.5 games behind the San Diego Padres (78-68) for the final NL Wild Card spot. They have kept their postseason hopes alive by winning eight of their last 10 games, and with O’Hearn back in action, their lineup is now at full strength.
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This story was originally published September 11, 2026 at 10:18 AM.