Pirates' Trade Helps Achieve Offseason Goal
The Pittsburgh Pirates knew if they were going to compete in a wide-open National League Central division next season, they needed to add more offense to a team that ranked in the bottom 10 in nearly every major hitting stat.
Pittsburgh took a step in the right direction when it traded a trio of pitchers, including right-hander Luis Ortiz to the Cleveland Guardians for infielder Spencer Horwitz to become to team's new first baseman on Tuesday. Horwitz was acquired by the Cleveland Guardians earlier in the day from the Toronto Blue Jays in a trade for All-Star second baseman Andrés Giménez.
With the trade, Pirates manager Derek Shelton said it helped address one of the biggest needs his team had heading into the offseason. He also noted the connection between hitting coach Matt Hague and infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who were also on the Blue Jays with Horwitz last season.
Hague was Toronto's assistant hitting coach last season and IKF spent the first half of the 2024 season on the Blue Jays before Pittsburgh acquired him via trade.
"More with Hague was because he knew him and when we started to get down the road in the process, he was able to communicate with his thoughts on him," Shelton said. "[I] got a text from IKF because he played with him. Overall, [it's] a good pickup that helps us lengthen our lineup. We came into the offseason saying that we needed to improve our offense and I think we have."
Horwitz, 27, batted .265/.357/.433 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs. Nearly all of his offensive production came against right-handed pitching, tallying 300 plate appearances against righties compared to just 81 against lefties. The left-handed hitting infielder posted a .285/.380/.484 slash line with 12 homers and 31 RBIs against righties compared to .194/.272/.250 and 9 RBIs vs. lefties.
Defensively, Horwitz played 41 games at first base and 39 at second base. He made one error in his 300.2 innings at first base and two errors in his 288 innings at second base.
The newly acquired first baseman isn't arbitration-eligible until 2027 and won't hit free agency until 2030.
