Pirates Transactions: Primary Offseason Pickup Spencer Horwitz Activated

Spencer Horwitz, the Pirates’ major offseason acquisition heading into the 2025 season, will make his team debut on May 17 in Philadelphia according to team manager Don Kelly. Picked up from Cleveland in return for Luis Ortiz and left-handed pitching prospects Michael Kennedy and Josh Hartle, Horwitz, a first baseman, underwent surgery on his right wrist during spring training.

A two year MLB veteran with a .264/.355/.428 slash line and 13 home runs across 112 games between Toronto and Cleveland, Horwitz will look to provide the Pirates with some stability at first, a position that has been a veritable black hole since the departure of Josh Bell in December 2020. Horwitz bats left-handed and has struggled mightily against lefty pitchers to this point in his career, logging an OPS of .522 in 2024. Against right-handers, for comparison, his OPS sat at .864.

Getting up to speed for the rigors of a big league season, Horwitz compiled a .677 OPS across 13 rehab games between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis.

In a corresponding move, the Pirates optioned Matt Gorski to Triple-A. Gorski split time between the outfield and first base with Pittsburgh, slashing .195/.214/.390 with 16 strikeouts and two home runs across 42 plate appearances.