Pirates First Baseman Joining Team Ahead of Phillies Series
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PHILADELPHIA — The Pittsburgh Pirates will have their first baseman join the team for the first time this season.
Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Spencer Horwitz is joining the Pirates ahead of their weekend series vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Sources: Spencer Horwitz will join the Pirates today, in Philadelphia.
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) May 16, 2025
Horwitz has dealt with a right wrist injury, which kept him out of all Spring Training and all MLB games with the Pirates so far in 2025.
He began his first rehab assignment with Double-A Altoona on April 27 and struggled, with just two hits in 16 at-bats, two walks to two strikeouts, as he slashed .125/.222/.188 in five games.
Horwitz spent time down in Florida the week prior to that, facing live pitching sessions.
He started another rehab assignment on May 6 with Triple-A Indianapolis and has batted .323/.333/.484 for an OPS of .817 in eight games, with 10 hits in 31 at-bats, two doubles, a home run, two RBIs and one walk to seven strikeouts.
Horwitz had his best two games in his most recent contests against the Louisville Bats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, with five hits in 10 at-bats, a double and then a home run in his most recent outing on May 15.
Pittsburgh added Horwitz in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians this offseason, sending right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz and left-handed pitchers in Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy in return.
He came to the Guardians in a trade in the offseason, where they sent second baseman Andrés Gimenéz plus reliever Nick Sandlin and received Horwitz and outfield prospect Nick Mitchell.
Horwitz played in 97 games, slashed .265/.357/.433, had an OPS of .790, hit 12 home runs and 40 RBIs and had 42 walks to 70 strikeouts in 2024.
He worked with Pirates hitting coach Matt Hague, who coached him at a variety of different levels with Toronto.
The Pirates have had four players start first base in Horwitz's abscence, including Enmanuel Valdez, who has started 22 games, Endy Rodríguez and rookie Matt Gorski, who have both started nine games each, and utilityman Jared Triolo with four starts there.
Valdez went on the 10-day Injured List on May 9 with left shoulder inflammation. The Pirates thentransferred Valdez to the 60-day Injured List on May 14 and Valdez is awaiting a second opinion on his shoulder, which should come next week.
Rodríguez hasn't played an MLB game since April 14, after suffering a laceration of his right index finger. He recently started his rehab assignment with Indianapolis on May 14.
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.