Breaking Down the Spencer Horwitz Trade to Pirates
p/c: Michael Zagaris
It was a hectic, Tuesday night, if you’re Spencer Horwitz.
Reports came out that the 27-year-old infielder, along with outfielder Nick Mitchell, were being dealt from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Cleveland Guardians, in exchange for second baseman Andres Gimenez and reliever Nick Sandlin.
Just a few hours later, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported that Horwitz was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In return, the Guardians are receiving pitchers Luis Ortiz, Michael Kennedy, and Josh Hartle.
Horwitz is coming off a good year offensively, for the Blue Jays, putting up an OPS of .790, in 381 plate appearances. He drew walks at an 11% rate, while cutting down on strikeouts from 27.3%, in 2023, to 18.4% this year.
Ortiz had spent parts of three seasons in Pittsburgh. The 25-year-old righty performed really well in 2024, as he registered a 3.32 ERA; splitting his time between the rotation and bullpen.
Kennedy was a fourth round draft selection of the Pirates in 2022. He is the 15th ranked prospect in the system, according to MLB Pipeline.
This past season, Kennedy posted a 3.66 ERA combined with Low A Bradenton and High A Greensboro.
The Pirates took Hartle in the third round of this year’s draft. He made just one appearance for Bradenton. MLB Pipeline had Hartle as Pittsburgh’s #17 prospect.
Assessment: The Guardians have been lacking starting pitching depth, and they certainly get some back by flipping Horwitz to the Bucs. Ortiz can slide right into Cleveland’s rotation next season. Although Kennedy and Hartle are ways away from the bigs, both are left-handers, with solid, upside,
On the other side, the Pirates get a first baseman in Horwitz, who’s in the prime of his career, with years of control, and won’t become a free agent until after the 2029 season. It’s also worth noting that new Pirates hitting coach, Matt Hague, worked with Horwitz, as Toronto’s assistant hitting coach, so perhaps there was some input on Hague’s part.
While Ben Cherington may have overpaid a little too much on the return, it still feels like a good deal, for each team.