Pirates
Perrotto: Spencer Horwitz Hopes to Stop Pirates’ Revolving Door

Spencer Horwitz has been the Pittsburgh Pirates’ biggest acquisition of the offseason.
That doesn’t excite fans of a team with 28 losing seasons in the last 32 years. During a contentious question-and-answer session at Pirates Fest, those fans made their feelings known over the weekend.
At least, they didn’t take it out on Horwitz, who came from Toronto Blue Jays via the Cleveland Guardians last month in a three-way trade. The left-handed hitting first baseman said he got a warm reception during the two-day David L. Lawrence Convention Center event.
Horwitz got a strong vibe from his new teammates – many of whom he met for the first time – that they are ready to win after going 76-86 each of the last two seasons.
‘The guys here, they are not happy with losing,” Horwitz said. “They want to win, and they are making that very clear. It seems like we just need a shift in the mindset and get the ‘every pitch matters, every little thing matters.’ It’s fine-tuning those little things and I think it will take us a long way.”
The Pirates need production at first base after players at that position hit just .230/.296/.380 with 19 home runs last season. The Pirates have not found a long-term answer at first base since trading Josh Bell following the 2020 season.
The Pirates are hoping the 27-year-old Horwitz can solve the problem. However, Horwitz won’t report to spring training next month with the attitude that he has the job won.
After all, Horwitz has played in just 112 major-league games, all with the Blue Jays over the past two seasons. He was never considered a top prospect after Toronto made him a 24th-round draft pick in 2019 from Radford University.
“I go down to Florida saying I’m ready to compete,” Horwitz said. “Whether that be at first or second or the outfield. I don’t know my exact role, but it seems like it will be a majority at first base. I’ve never been one to say this is my job, it’s a job I’m going to try to earn.”
At the very least, the left-handed hitting Horwitz will likely be the long side of a platoon, perhaps with right-handed-hitting rookie Billy Cook.
Horwitz has hit just .195/.276/.247 with no home runs in 87 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers in the big leagues. Against right-handers, he has a .283/.376/.476 slash line with 13 home runs in 338 trips to the plate.
“I think I’ve grown a lot versus left-handed pitching,” Horwitz said. “Though my overall numbers in the big league didn’t show it, I think my underlying numbers in the big leagues are actually pretty good. If you look throughout the years in the minor leagues, it’s gotten a lot better. Yeah, I’ve been working at it for years. I don’t want to be known as a platoon guy, hopefully, I get some chances against lefties too.”
Horwitz is excited to work with hitting coach Matt Hague, who the Pirates hired earlier in the offseason from the Blue Jays. Horwitz and Hague were together at the Double-A, Triple-A and major-league levels over the last three seasons.
“I think he’s really good at making it individual and not just cookie-cutting it,” Horwitz said. “He can also relate to the players by relaying his message in different verbiage that I didn’t know in the beginning, but hopefully I can help bridge that gap and relay some information for the guys too.”
Being a translator brings added value but the Pirates need from Horwitz is production at a position that has been a black hole for four years.