Pirates Add Veteran Bat In Proposed Trade With Division Rival
The Pittsburgh Pirates took one step toward improving their offense when they traded a trio of pitchers, including right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz, to the Cleveland Guardians for first baseman Spencer Horwitz.
Could Pittsburgh take another step toward addressing one of its most pressing needs from a trade with one of its division rivals?
Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller proposed a trade between the Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers and had Pittsburgh landing first baseman/DH Rhys Hoskins and $8 million in exchange for left-handed hitting shortstop prospect Tsung-Che Chung. Cheng is the Pirates' No. 16 ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline.
"They've become big fans of taking one-year flyers on guys coming off of disappointing seasons —see: Aroldis Chapman, Martín Pérez, Rowdy Tellez and Yasmani Grandal last winter, Rich Hill in 2023, Jose Quintana in 2022—and they could definitely use at least one more 1B/DH option, even after the recent acquisition of Spencer Horwitz," Miller writes.
Hoskins' power numbers were on par with his typical production since his first full season with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018. The right-handed hitting first baseman hit 26 home runs and had 82 RBIs, making it the third consecutive season he's hit at least 25 home runs and driven in over 70 runs. Hoskins, 31, has hit at least 25 home runs and driven in over 70 runs in each season he's played over 100 games.
But while his power numbers were still solid, everything else took a significant dip. Hoskins' .214/.303/.419 slash line, 98 OPS+ and -0.2 Wins Above Replacement were all the lowest of his career.
A potential platoon between Horwitz and Hoskins could be intriguing, but both batters did much more damage against right-handed pitching. Hoskins batted .212/.296/.407 with 18 home runs and 58 RBIs in 386 plate appearances. He had fewer opportunities against left-handed pitching but posted slightly better slash lines, batting .218/.323/.455 with 8 home runs and 24 RBIs in 131 plate appearances.
Horwitz, 27, had a much bigger discrepancy between facing right-handed pitchers and left-handed pitchers. The left-handed hitting first baseman hit 12 home runs, drove in 31 runs and posted a .285/.380/.484 slash line in 300 plate appearances. Horwitz had 81 plate appearances against left-handed pitching, tallying just 9 RBIs and batting .194/.272/.250.
In-division trades can be finicky, especially for one that could be as unpredictable as National League Central. And with the Pirates' history of not wanting to spend money, one could imagine it wouldn't be too thrilled to take on most of the $18 million for Hoskins who could be at the start of his decline.
Hoskins' bat would certainly be a welcome addition for Pittsburgh, given its offensive struggles, but the logistics would likely be too much for both teams to handle.
