PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Looking for a first baseman, the Pirates traded one of its starting pitchers and two prospects on Tuesday night as part of a multiplayer deal to land a 27-year-old under team control for five years.
Left-hand hitting, right-hand fielding first baseman Spencer Horwitz (who can also play second base and right field) comes from the Cleveland Guardians for starting pitcher Luis Ortiz, left-handed pitching prospects Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy. The 5’10”, 190-pound Horwitz was traded to Cleveland earlier on Tuesday from Toronto.
Unlike recent first base acquisitions, Horwitz is under control for multiple seasons. He won’t be a free agent until 2030 and won’t be arbitration eligible until 2027.
The Maryland native played 97 games with the Blue Jays last year in his first considerable MLB playing time. Here were the 2024 stats-381 at bats, 87 hits, 19 doubles, 12 home runs, 40 RBI, 42 walks, 70 strikeouts, .265, .357 on-base percentage, .790 OPS.
He moved around in the lineup, batting in every spot, but the majority was at cleanup (34 times) and second overall (29 times). He split time between first and second base last year, playing 36 games at first and 38 at second. He was voted the International League’s (AAA) Best Defensive Infielder in 2023.
There was a little inside knowledge on Horwitz, last year he started the season with AAA Buffalo, where new Pirates hitting coach Matt Hague was the hitting coach. In 57 games in AAA, he had 22 doubles, four home runs, 38 RBI with a .335 average, .456 on-base percentage and .970 OPS.
A 24th round pick out of Radford in 2019, Horwitz has a career .307 batting average with 134 doubles, 42 home runs and a .884 OPS in 448 minor league games.
Ortiz excelled as a starter last year, 4-4 with a 3.22 ERA in 15 starts, 86.2 innings, .201 batting average against and 1.00 ERA in 2024. Overall with the Pirates in 59 games, 34 starts, a 3.93 ERA, 100 walks, 183 strikeouts, 1.32 WHIP. The righty will turn 26 next month and won’t be a free agent until 2030.
Hartle, 21, was a third-round pick in 2024 from Wake Forest and Kennedy, a 20-year-old, played in 18 games between low and high A in 2024 with a 3.66 ERA, 1.08 WHIP with 95 strikeouts in 83.2 innings.