The Pittsburgh Pirates put the finishing touch on their impressive offseason earlier this week, agreeing to a one-year, $12 million contract with veteran slugger Marcell Ozuna on Monday.

The deal is still pending a physical, but the Pirates are thrilled about potentially adding another power bat to their lineup. Ozuna’s 21 home runs last season would have led Pittsburgh’s roster, and that was considered a “down” year for him.

While joining a new team can be difficult, it helps that the 35-year-old will be playing for a former teammate in Don Kelly.

Kelly, who took over from Derek Shelton last year, was teammates with Ozuna on the Miami Marlins in 2015 and 2016. He’s excited about possibly reuniting with the three-time All-Star and being able to pencil his name into the lineup.

“If everything goes well, excited to add Ozuna’s bat to the lineup,” Kelly said Tuesday during a video conference with reporters. “When you talk about the seasons that he’s had, last year being quote unquote ‘down year,’ still 21 home runs and a bunch of RBIs and a big power bat that we can put in the middle of our order.”

Kelly is looking forward to Ozuna’s impact off the field, too, and the effect he can have in the clubhouse.

“He’s a teammate. And the first-hand experience that I had with him in Miami and the feedback that we’ve gotten from everybody in Atlanta is that he helps everybody be better,” Kelly said. “Excited what that is going to mean in regards to Oneil (Cruz), too, to have Marcell be in the clubhouse, to be able to help him. I think Marcell is going to help a lot of guys.”

With Andrew McCutchen still unsigned, Ozuna has an opportunity to fill that leadership void and help the team’s young stars.

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