Pirates Have Big Shoes to Fill in Scouting Department
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates lost their most important person in their scouting department and need to make a big decision going forward.
Joe Doyle of OverSlot.com reported that the Washington Nationals are hiring Pirates director of amateur scouting in Justin Horowitz as an assistant general manager. Horowitz worked with new Nationals president of baseball operations, Paul Toboni, from 2015-23 at the Boston Red Sox.
NEWS: The Washington Nationals are hiring Pittsburgh Pirates Director of Amateur Scouting Justin Horowitz into an Assistant General Manager role.
— Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) October 24, 2025
Horowitz worked alongside new Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni extensively in Boston from 2015 through 2023.
Justin Horowitz's Time with the Pirates
Horowitz joined the Pirates in November 2023 as their director of amateur scouting, working exclusively to find the best players in the MLB Draft the past two seasons.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and Horowitz were in the same front office with the Red Sox from May 2012-July 2015.
Cherington was the general manager for the Red Sox at the time, while Horowitz worked as a baseball operations intern through Oct. 2014 and then as an assistant in the amateur and international scouting departments from Nov. 2014 through Aug. 2015, when Cherington ended up resigning from his role.
He played a massive role in the Pirates taking Konnor Griffin with the ninth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Jackson Preparatory School in Jackson, Miss.
Griffin became the best prospect in baseball this past season, slashing .333/.415/.527 for an OPS of .942 in 122 games, 161 hits, 23 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 94 RBIs, 50 walks to 122 strikeouts and 65 stolen bases on 13 attempts.
He led all of minor league baseball with 117 runs scored and the 19-year old became the first teenage draftee to have a 20-40 season, finishing with 21 home runs and 65 stolen bases. He was also the first minor league player to have a 20-60 season since 1982.
Griffin moved up all the way from Single-A Bradenton to High-A Greensboro and then to Double-A Altoona, leading the Curve to the Playoffs for the first time since 2018. He also represented the Pirates at the Futures Game, featuring the best prospects in baseball.
Horowitz also helped find some of the top talents in the Pirates organization, including right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, who MLB Pipeline ranks third in the Pirates farm system and the 27th best prospect in baseball.
He also took six other players in the past two MLB Drafts that currently rank in the Pirates top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline.
This includes both shortstop Wyatt Sanford (10th) with the 47th overall pick in the second round out of Independence High School in Frisco, Texas and right-handed pitcher Levi Sterling (12th) with the 37th overall pick in Competitive Balance Round A out of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks. Calif., both in 2024.
The other four players came in the 2025 MLB Draft, which features catcher Easton Carmichael (20th) with the 82nd pick in the third round out of Oklahoma, third baseman Murf Gray (23rd) with the 73rd overall pick in Competitive Balance Round B out of Fresno State, shortstop Gustavo Melendez (26th) with the 113th overall pick in the fourth round out of Puerto Rico and first baseman Jared Jones with the 263rd pick in the ninth round out of LSU.
How Big of a Loss is this for the Pirates?
Front office changes at the MLB level happen consistently and Horowitz is essentially getting a promotion that almost no one would turn down.
The Pirates lose one of the better up and coming scouting directors in an area they view as incredibly vital, finding the best players from the draft and getting them to the MLB to make a winning product.
Griffin, if he continues on his trajectory, will serve as one of the Pirates best draft picks, along with Andrew McCutchen at 11th in the 2005 MLB Draft, and as an everyday shortstop for a team desperate for better hitting.
While some Pirates fans bemoaned taking a pitcher with their first pick, Hernandez is at 100 mph with his fastball at just 19 years old and could end up a future star pitcher for the Pirates in a few years.
Who Will Replace Justin Horowitz For the Pirates?
The Pirates took Horowitz from the Red Sox in 2023, after he spent the past three seasons as a special assistant in amateur scouting.
They could look internally at their options for a promotion, which would include Mike Mangan, the assistant director of amateur scouting, and Micaela Abbatine, the coordinator of amateur scouting, amongst others.
Cherington also has many relationships around the league, working in both the Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays front offices and could add someone from those teams as well.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.