PITTSBURGH —The Pittsburgh Pirates' biggest offseason need was an offensive upgrade, and they have made progress on that front so far by trading for second baseman Brandon Lowe and outfielder Jake Mangum and their reported signing of free agent Ryan O'Hearn.

But the Pirates also seem to be targeting something that won't be found on a Baseball Reference page: good clubhouse guys. Lowe, Mangum and O'Hearn each have reputations as great teammates, players who can either lead a clubhouse or help their teammates get better.

This isn't to say the 2025 Pirates had clubhouse issues. There wasn't any clear conflict, and Tommy Pham and Andrew McCutchen, in particular, were valuable veteran leaders. But while Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller were the leaders of the rotation, and David Bednar then Dennis Santana led the bullpen, the offense never seemed to have a vocal centerpiece who had both been around winning baseball and was still in his prime.

Perhaps Lowe or O'Hearn could help.

Lowe, an eight-year veteran and a two-time All-Star, was known as one of the leaders of the Tampa Bays Rays' clubhouse. Getting traded is never easy, but Mangum said he feels more comfortable because the 31-year-old Lowe is coming with him.

"As far as Brandon Lowe goes, man, it was a joy for me to be a rookie in his clubhouse that he was a leader of," Mangum said Monday. "He led our clubhouse with the Tampa Bay Rays, and he is an absolute joy to be around, man. He helped me as a rookie in ways I can't describe."

Montgomery said he was impressed by most of his teammates as he watched from the Rays bullpen, but Lowe was one who stood out.

"Brandon's obviously Brandon, you know?" Montgomery said. "He's been doing it for a long time. He's gonna give you what you know that he'll give you."

Lowe brings playoff experience to Pittsburgh, as he made five consecutive appearances in the postseason with Tampa Bay from 2019 to 2023. But he also knows the best way to make the postseason is not to focus on it, a message he passed on to Mangum.

"He said the best philosophy is to not even think about postseason but to take each game for what it's worth for 162, and just kind of keep your head down and keep chugging," Mangum said. "So I guess that's going to be my mindset going into it. That's the goal, man."

O'Hearn hasn't officially been introduced yet, but he also has a strong reputation. After his last game with the Baltimore Orioles, before he was dealt to the San Diego Padres at the 2025 trade deadline, roughly 10 of his Orioles teammates pulled chairs to his locker to hang out. They figured a trade was coming, and they wanted to say goodbye.

O'Hearn earned respect as a minor-league spring training invitee by advancing to the championship of a clubhouse ping-pong tournament, became one of the Orioles' road trip DJs and, most importantly, had a career year in 2025 by batting .281 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs.

"He definitely brings a quality vibe to the clubhouse every single day," then-teammate Cedric Mullins told Baltimore reporters in July before the trade deadline. "Yeah, he's going to be missed, 100%."

It sounds like he wasn't just a leader in one portion of the Baltimore clubhouse — he was liked everywhere.

"We loved the man," Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino told reporters after the trade. "He helped this team get into the playoffs and was a leader in the clubhouse, a guy so loved and well-liked among the Americans, the Latins, the old guys, the young guys."

Mangum also has a strong reputation around the game, though he's known as a grinder. As a 29-year-old rookie, Mangum batted .296 in Tampa last season with 27 stolen bases.

He's not a middle-of-the-order bat, but Mangum is someone you want on your team.

"Mangum's just a ball player in every sense of the word," Lowe said. "... I would be hard-pressed to find somebody with more heart and more drive to want to give you everything that he has than Mangum. He's gonna run hard on every single play, doesn't matter if he chops it back to the pitcher or if he hits it off the wall. It feels like he's gonna give you the same amount of effort on everything."

His Tampa Bay teammates saw that effort, a Mangum staple since before his big-league debut. One of Mangum's quotes from his introductory presser gained traction on X, and former Pirates reliever Rob Zastrzny replied with a Mangum memory of his own.

When I was with the Mets we had a AA vs AAA scrimmage in Syracuse. It was 20 degrees and no one wanted to be there. Jake drew a 8 pitch walk, stole second, dove into home on a single and screamed "let's go boys." His dugout went nuts. Guy plays to win everyday. He's the best.

"When I was with the Mets we had a [Double-A versus Triple-A] scrimmage in Syracuse," Zastrzny wrote. "It was 20 degrees and no one wanted to be there. Jake drew [an] 8 pitch walk, stole second, dove into home on a single and screamed 'let's go boys.' His dugout went nuts. Guy plays to win everyday. He's the best."

Of course, when the season starts, what matters most is production. It's tough to lead a clubhouse when you're not producing yourself, and reputation only goes so far.

But new voices can be a positive, too, especially for an offense looking for an identity and with players looking for internal improvement. A strong clubhouse can lead to success.

O'Hearn, Mangum and Lowe look like positive offensive additions — they might be positive clubhouse additions, too.

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