What Does the Spencer Horwitz Deal Mean for the Pittsburgh Pirates?

DALLAS, Tex. — On Dec. 10, 2024, the Pittsburgh Pirates were involved in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians, sending Spencer Horwitz to the Steel City. Cleveland got back a trio of quality pitchers that included, Luis Ortiz, Michael Kennedy, and Josh Hartle.

Horwitz was dealt to Pittsburgh just mere hours after being involved in the deal that sent Andres Gimenez to the Toronto Blue Jays. He was the key piece heading back to Cleveland in this deal, so it came as a surprise to many in the industry that the team moved on so quickly.

Following the trade, many fans began to wonder: was this the team’s answer for their first base vacancy? Is this going to be the team’s only big splash this off-season? When you look at the circumstances around the move, it appears like he will be their guy, and there’s plenty of reasons to be excited about this as well.

Introducing Spencer Horwitz

Horwitz came into the 2024 season looking to get a shot at the big-league level. After spending some time in Triple-A Buffalo at the beginning of the season, he was recalled on June 7, and he’d go on to be a key part of the Blue Jays offense for the remainder of the season.

He’d play 97 games at the Major League level, where he’d crush 12 home runs, record an 11%/18.4% strikeout to walk rate, slash .265/.357/.433, with a 127 wRC+, and 1.9 fWAR.

Horwitz went on to put up incredibly impressive plate discipline metrics, making that one of the more prized areas of his game. For example, he’d whiff just 19.4% of the time, all while maintaining a low chase rate just under 26%. In addition, the 26-year-old recorded solid zone contact rates, out of contact swing rate, and out of zone contact rate.

He’s also a good breaking ball hitter as well, with his .460 wOBACON, and 21.8% whiff rate ranking in the upper portion of the league. He also kills right handed pitching, recording a wRC+ near 150 against them.

Horwitz’s wRC+ and on-base percentage would’ve ranked first on the Pirates, which is really impressive. The team hasn’t seen a qualified first baseman post a wRC+ above 130 since Josh Bell in 2019. With how Horwitz played this season, there’s reason to believe he could break this streak of bad luck at the position.

When you take a deep dive into the numbers, the left-hander looks to be a really solid Major League hitter. He also worked well with the club’s new hitting coach, Matt Hague, throughout his entire professional career. From his strike zone awareness, to his overall production, this type of impact player is exactly what the Pirates were looking for.

Horwitz also comes with a whopping five years of control, something the team has been searching endlessly for. Their hole at first base finally appears to be addressed. With his control, he has the potential to be even better for the club down the road.

All things considered, Horwitz is likely better than any potential free agent signing would have been. If his bat can remain consistent, he seems like he could finally be the answer at first base for the club.

What do the Pirates Still Need to do?

With this move solving the problem at first base, the Pirates now have one less hole to address this offseason. The club still has vacancies in their bullpen, as well as the need for another quality outfielder. While it’s unclear if these needs will be addressed via trade, or via the free agent market, General Manager Ben Cherington and the team’s skipper Derek Shelton have both expressed interest in adding to the offense.

When asked about the need to bolster the offense, Cherington said: “If we’re gonna continue to improve, the obvious thing would be to score more runs. So, we’ve gotta add offense… corner spots, first base, those are sort of the focus areas.”

“We do need to add bats”, Shelton said in an interview on MLB Network while also noting the team feels good about where their core currently stands.

With two of the team’s figureheads acknowledging the need for offensive upgrades, it’s reasonable to assume that this will continue to be a place where the team will try and find some players who fit. The team was able to take care of one of their offensive needs for the league minimum in Horwitz, which leaves them with plenty of room to address the outfield.

Address the Outfield

Rumors have circulated that the Los Angeles Angels are searching to move one of their outfielders, and there’s reason to believe this player may be Taylor Ward.

In early July of this year, the team was linked to Ward, but they weren’t able to pull off the trade before deadline day. Ward would be a great fit for the team, as he comes with two years of control, and is currently estimated to earn just $8.75 million in arbitration this offseason.

Ward’s 111 wRC+, and 25 home runs last season would massively help the team, and they should be able to pull off the trade without dipping heavily into the farm system. If the team was able to pull this off, the pairing would be a match made in heaven.

Another outfielder who might fit? Free agent Max Kepler.

Kepler, a 31-year-old veteran, enters free agency this year in an interesting position.

After coming off of a down year in 2024, where he posted a wRC+ nearly 30 points lower than he did in 2023, Kepler is likely going to have to take a short-term, “prove it” deal. If this is the case, Cherington will have a chance to find a reliable outfielder at a discounted price.

Kepler has consistently been on the verge of breaking out throughout his whole career, occasionally tapping into his true potential.

In 105 games last season, Kepler slashed .253/.302/.380, with a 94 wRC+. However, if we go back to 2023, Kepler put up a career-high, 24 home runs, while also slashing .260/.332/.484 with a 123 wRC+

According to some sources, Kepler will likely sign for somewhere in the $6-10 million range, which makes him the perfect candidate for the Pirates’ outfield needs.

If they don’t decide to go either of these ways to address the outfield problem, there are still other options available. From Mike Yastrzemski, to Alex Verdugo, there are plenty of impact pieces they could acquire. This is all made possible as well, by the money they saved at first base with Horwitz.

Touch Up the Bullpen

The bullpen will also end up being a place they desperately need to target, with the club losing Aroldis Chapman to Boston this offseason.

Chapman threw 60, stable innings last year for the club, recording an ERA of just under 3.80. Chapman was also the key player who held the bullpen together amidst the struggles of David Bednar, and Colin Holderman later in the season.

Replacing Chapman’s innings won’t be easy, but the money they were able to save by acquiring Horwitz will do wonders for the team.

If they decide to go the same route they did with Chapman, and bring in a veteran reliever, Kenley Jansen would be a solid option.

Jansen pitched to a 3.29 ERA last season, while also maintaining a strikeout rate near 30%, and an ERA+ of 130. Jansen also threw 54 innings, which would cover a significant portion of what’s being lost with the departure of Aroldis Chapman.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel has Jansen signing a 2-year, $25 million dollar deal. This contract would break down similarly to the 1-year, $10.75 million dollar deal Chapman signed last season in terms of AAV.

If the Pirates choose to add some other cheaper bullpen options, there’s also many opportunities there as well. Lefty A.J. Minter could stand in and replace the departing left-handed bullpen options. Right-handed veteran Jose Leclerc would also bring viable depth to the bullpen as well.

No matter where Pittsburgh looks to address their outfield woes, and lack of bullpen depth, one thing is for certain: the team has much more freedom with Horwitz being the answer at first base. Without this, the Pirates likely would’ve been forced into spending much needed money at first base, and not seeing much of an upgrade from what they already had.