'Blessing in disguise': Spencer Horwitz adds hot bat, improved defense to Pirates after surgery

Spencer Horwitz waited a long time to make his Pittsburgh Pirates debut, which was delayed by surgery on his right wrist in February that caused him to miss spring training and the first 45 games of the season.

He has wasted no time making a positive impression.

The 27-year-old first baseman, acquired in December from Cleveland via Toronto, has made as much of an impact with his footwork and glove work around the bag as he has with the bat in his hands.

“That’s where I feel most comfortable in the world, is in that batter’s box,” Horwitz said. “I love baseball. I love hitting. And I’m going to keep working at it.”

Horwitz has brought a hot bat to a team desperately in need of an offensive boost. He is hitting .278/.350/.444, going 5 for 18 through his first six games. Horwitz had his first two-hit game as a Pirate on Tuesday in his PNC Park debut and hit his first homer with the club in Thursday’s 8-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

SPENCER HORWITZ FIRST HOME RUN AS A PIRATE

NO-DOUBTER

104.8 MPH exit velocity, 409 feet, HR in 29/30 ballparks (except for SF's Oracle Park) pic.twitter.com/NpdHF4cLnK

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) May 22, 2025

Pirates manager Don Kelly complimented Horwitz’s ability to square balls up, including the 409-foot solo shot off Aaron Civale on a full-count cutter to start the fourth inning against the Brewers.

“Obviously, the home run was impressive,” Kelly said. “Having really good at-bats. He hit the double-play the other day that was a rocket right at the second baseman. He continues to have at-bats like that. He’s a really good hitter, and we’ve seen what he can do on defense, as well.”

That’s where Horwitz has been better than advertised. He’s taking pride in his defense after spending his downtime during spring training taking grounders and improving his footwork around the bag, which Kelly called “impressive.” With the Pirates, Horwitz quickly became entrenched as the starter at first base, a position he had played in 46 games (36 starts) with the Blue Jays over the past two seasons while playing 39 games at second base and 26 as designated hitter.

“This wrist injury, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that I had more time to focus on my defense, and it’s showing right now,” Horwitz said. “I’m being more consistent out there and working on that first-step quickness.”

Spencer Horwitz showing off his defense at 1B to prevent a run pic.twitter.com/4LakRPgpvG

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) May 17, 2025

Horwitz fielded a Nick Castellanos grounder and made a perfect throw to home plate to get Bryce Harper out in the first inning Saturday in his Pirates debut. Horwitz made a pair of dazzling defensive plays Tuesday in a 1-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds, a leaping grab-and-tag on a high throw from third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to get Tyler Stephenson out in the second inning and picking a broken-bat line drive by TJ Friedl for the final out in the third.

“He works hard, and he’s working on the little things over there, just like the other guys,” Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier said. “This is the first time anybody’s seen him play first, so I guess the first impression has been good. He’s swinging the bat well, too, putting together professional at-bats and playing good defense there. It’s a big boost for our lineup.”

As far as Horwitz is concerned, he’s just getting started. After batting .265/.357/.433 with 19 doubles, 12 homers and 40 RBIs in 97 games last year for Toronto, he hopes to improve on those numbers with the Pirates.

“No one has higher expectations of me than myself,” Horwitz said. “I’m going to be harder on myself than anyone could imagine. I’m also going to do everything in my power to get better. That’s what I bring to this team: hard work and competitiveness.”