The Pirates introduced the acquisition of first baseman/second baseman Spencer Horwitz from the Guardians for a three-player package deal: righty Luis Ortiz and left-handed pitching prospects Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy. Cleveland dealt Horwitz inside hours of buying him from the Blue Jays on this afternoon’s Andrés Giménez deal.
Horwitz, 27, appears as if he’ll get a crack at Pittsburgh’s beginning first base job. He would’ve been an imperfect match on a Cleveland crew that already has Josh Naylor and Kyle Manzardo. There’s a a lot clearer path to enjoying time in Pittsburgh. The Bucs used Rowdy Tellez as their main first baseman for many of the ’24 season. He didn’t carry out properly and was reduce unfastened on the finish of the yr.
The lefty-hitting Horwitz has proven offensive promise each in Triple-A and the massive leagues. He turned in a formidable .265/.357/.433 batting line over 381 plate appearances this yr. Horwitz picked up 12 homers and 19 doubles whereas displaying wonderful strike zone consciousness. He walked at an 11% clip whereas placing out 18.4% of the time.
Horwitz has a stellar minor league observe report. He’s a profession .316/.433/.471 hitter with almost as many walks as strikeouts in 208 Triple-A video games. He clearly has offensive skill, however he’s but to get a full MLB run due to a scarcity of defensive worth. Horwitz has been a primary baseman for many of his minor league profession. His 5’10” body and hit-over-power method are uncommon at that place. Toronto used him as a part of their second base combine as properly, however groups don’t appear to view him as an on a regular basis participant there.
The Bucs don’t have an ideal possibility at second base both. Nick Gonzales is the in-house favourite on the heels of a pedestrian .270/.311/.398 displaying. The Pirates will in all probability keep on with Gonzales on the keystone and use Horwitz at first, however the latter is a minimum of able to kicking over to second base as a fill-in possibility.
Horwitz has but to achieve a full yr of MLB service. He’s underneath membership management for six years. He’ll very seemingly be eligible for arbitration after two seasons as a Tremendous Two qualifier, however the Bucs will get a pair years of what they hope is a plug-and-play first baseman on roughly league minimal salaries. It’s questionable whether or not Horwitz has ample energy to profile as an on a regular basis possibility. If he hits his ceiling, he’d in all probability undertaking as a LaMonte Wade Jr. kind who will get on base sufficient to be a strong common. Pittsburgh’s first-year hitting coach Matt Hague labored for Toronto lately and is definitely bullish on Horwitz’s offensive acumen.
Ortiz is the one member of the trio heading to Cleveland who has MLB expertise. The 25-year-old righty has pitched in a swing position over the previous couple years. Ortiz struggled over his first two seasons however turned in a quietly sturdy ’24 marketing campaign. He began 15 of 37 appearances and logged 135 2/3 innings of three.32 ERA ball. Ortiz managed strong outcomes it doesn’t matter what position he was requested to play. He turned in a 3.22 mark out of the rotation whereas permitting 3.49 earned runs per 9 in reduction.
The underlying profile didn’t match the sturdy ERA. Ortiz neither will get ground-balls nor strikeouts at excessive charges. His 8.8% swinging strike proportion was properly under common. To his credit score, Ortiz did take a serious step ahead together with his management this yr. After strolling a minimum of 12% of opponents in his first two seasons, he restricted the free passes to a 7.6% clip.
Ortiz may have a troublesome time repeating this yr’s success until he finds a approach to miss extra bats. That’s not out of the query, as he has intriguing uncooked stuff. Ortiz sits within the 95-96 MPH vary with each his four-seam and sinking fastball. He discovered a number of success with a mid-80s slider that served as his high secondary providing. If he can maintain this yr’s command whereas discovering a greater swing-and-miss pitch, he’d have a shot to be a mid-rotation arm. If not, he may discover himself again within the bullpen as a protracted reliever.
The Guardians have a strong observe report of pitching growth, however they’re skinny within the rotation for the second straight season. Tanner Bibee is the one lock for his or her season-opening rotation. Gavin Williams and Ben Full of life will in all probability occupy back-end roles. Ortiz has a good shot of cracking the entrance 5, which might additionally embody one in all Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen or Joey Cantillo in the event that they don’t make any additional additions. Shane Bieber re-signed and will consider by Might or June as he works again from Tommy John surgical procedure.
It’s nonetheless a comparatively weak group, however the Guardians papered over a poor rotation by counting on a dominant bullpen this previous season. Whereas they’ll seemingly want to take action once more, Cleveland may add a minimum of yet one more starter by way of free company or commerce. Pittsburgh has a number of higher stage pitching expertise, so Ortiz would’ve had an uphill battle to carry off arms like Thomas Harrington and Bubba Chandler for a rotation spot.
Ortiz lands between one and two service years. He’s a minimum of one season from arbitration and will discover himself on the border of Tremendous Two eligibility subsequent winter. No matter whether or not he will get to arbitration early, he received’t develop into a free agent for 5 seasons.
The Bucs additionally pay a little bit of a prospect value to even the deal. Hartle was Pittsburgh’s third-round decide this summer season. The Wake Forest product entered the spring as a possible first-round expertise earlier than struggling to a 5.97 ERA in his junior season.
Baseball America wrote of their draft report that Hartle has good command with fringy stuff. He sits within the low 90s with roughly common secondary pitches. It’s not the highest-upside profile on paper, however that is the kind of arm with whom the Guardians’ participant growth division has thrived. Bibee and Bieber have been additionally command-oriented school draftees whose stuff didn’t take off till they acquired into professional ball. Whereas that’s actually not a assure that Hartle will progress the identical manner, it’s not a shock that he’s of curiosity to Cleveland.
Kennedy, 20, was a fourth-round pick of a New York highschool in 2023. He made 18 appearances within the low minors this yr, working to a 3.66 ERA with a near-28% strikeout price over 83 2/3 frames. As with Hartle, he attracts reward for his athleticism and management however has subpar velocity. They’re every developmental fliers who’ve a shot to stay as starters if their stuff comes alongside.
Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Pirates have been buying Horwitz. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had the return going to Cleveland. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet urged earlier this night that Horwitz may find yourself being flipped to Pittsburgh. Photographs courtesy of USA At present Sports activities.
