The Pittsburgh Pirates debut of Spencer Horwitz has been a long time coming, and it looks like this weekend Horwitz will finally suit up for the big league club.
The Pirates are reportedly activating Horwitz from his rehab assignment tomorrow, and he is expected to get into game action this weekend as the Pirates are in Philadelphia for a three-game series with the Phillies.
Horwitz was the big move by Pirates general manager Ben Cherington this offseason. Though the 27-year-old had only 112 major league games to his name, he was enticing enough for Cherington to send starting pitcher Luis Ortiz and lefty pitching prospects Michael Kennedy and Josh Hartle to Cleveland to get him.
The Guardians had acquired Horwitz in a separate trade from Toronto just hours prior. In his first real season in the big leagues, Horwitz slashed .265/.357/.433 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI in 97 games. That followed up a brief run in 2023 that saw him go 10-for-39 with one home run and seven RBI in 15 games.
But the Horwitz deal came with risk. Not just because Pittsburgh was giving up three arms, but because Horwitz had come with injury concern. The first baseman, who Cherington hopes will occupy that spot for years down the line, had a wrist injury that the Pirates knew about when they traded for him.
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