Could Pirates' Trade Come Back To Haunt Them?
In this story:
It has been status quo for the Pittsburgh Pirates this offseason.
The lone significant addition for Pittsburgh was acquiring left-handed hitting first baseman Spencer Horwitz via trade from the Cleveland Guardians for a trio of pitchers, including right-handed starter Luis Ortiz. With the Pirates not doing too much to improve the team or showing much urgency after back-to-back 76-86 seasons, ESPN's David Schoenfield graded their offseason as a C-minus.
"Expectations are never high with the Pirates and this offseason is yet another winter of little adventure. Horwitz will take over at first base; he's a high-floor/low-ceiling player who should post a decent OBP but without the power you'd like at the position," Schoenfield wrote.
Horwitz showed promise in his first extended stint in the big leagues for the Toronto Blue Jays, batting .265/.357/.433 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 97 games. The only caveat to his season at the plate was nearly all of his production came against right-handed pitching, including all but nine of his RBIs.
Ortiz was one of the Pirates' most reliable starters outside of Paul Skenes after he was moved from the bullpen to the rotation. He went 4-4 with a 3.22 ERA in 15 starts after joining the Pirates' rotation and making his first start on June 26. Of Ortiz's 15 starts, seven were quality starts, and he had four outings where he pitched at least six innings without allowing a run.
With Ortiz's strong close to the season, Schoenfield believes the Pirates could come to regret the deal if he lives up to the potential he displayed as a starter for Cleveland, though he also noted Pittsburgh is confident in the depth it has, including a trio of top-100 pitching prospects that's headlined by Bubba Chandler.
"Adding him cost the Pirates an intriguing arm in Luis Ortiz, who pitched well as a starter in the second half," Schoenfield writes. "That's a trade that could come back to haunt the Pirates, although they believe they have plenty of starting pitching depth, with Paul Skenes leading the way, plus Bubba Chandler on the horizon and Johan Oviedo returning from injury."
