Pirates' Spencer Horwitz hopes to continue finding his stride at the plate

Navigating through longer-term injuries can be a lonely experience for any professional athlete.

Watching teammates suit up and compete, juxtaposed with the mundane, slow-moving experience of rehabilitation and healing is frustrating.

That was the situation for Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz, acquired in the offseason but sidelined before Game 1 of the 2025 season because of wrist surgery in March.

On top of the injury recovery, Horwitz was put at a disadvantage when it came to bonding with his new teammates, not to mention having to deal with the scrutiny of being the Pirates’ biggest offseason trade acquisition but not playing until mid-May.

“It’s really tough when you come to a new team, you get traded over, and then he got hurt,” manager Don Kelly said. “And he’s dealing with coming off of a wrist injury, which is really tough as a hitter, to overcome that.”

Horwitz’s first two weeks with the Pirates post-injury, constituting 51 at-bats in 14 games from May 17-31, weren’t impressive statistically. Over that span, he slashed .216/.286/.314 with a homer and five RBIs.

However, it was expected Horwitz would need to shake off some rust.

Horwitz’s more recent performance at the plate presents a more encouraging picture of his potential.

He entered Friday’s three-game series at home vs. the Mets slashing .288/.356/.394 in June with seven doubles and five RBIs.

Horwitz also has hits in 14 of 19 games played this month, including 11 of his last 12 dating to June 11.

Over his last four games, dating to June 22’s series finale vs. Texas, Horwitz is 7 for 15 with three doubles and three RBIs.

Having racked up a significant enough sample size (117 at-bats entering Friday), Horwitz said he can better make adjustments with hitting coach Matt Hague as needed.

“Just trying to get my best swing off, whether that be pull side or back side,” Horwitz said. “Just stop trying to feel it out and just kind of swing. … I’m starting to get, not comfortable, but can start to look at some data, some information, and get some feedback.”

Defensively, Kelly and Co. have had reason to be pleased, as Horwitz has yet to commit an error through 269 1/3 innings at first base.

In a perfect world for the Pirates, Horwitz will demonstrate more power before the year’s over. Last season, he hit 12 homers and had a .433 slugging percentage in 97 games with Toronto.

The 27-year-old has just one homer through 33 games in a Pirates uniform and is slugging .359.

For now, the Pirates are content to remain patient as Horwitz accumulates more at-bats and continues to adjust to his new surroundings.

“It’s something he’s just got to stick with,” Kelly said. “He’s had success in the big leagues. He’s going to have success. We always think that — we hope, as a player, you always think it’s going to be linear and up — and you’re always going to have those peaks and valleys. And how do you continue to work through those valleys and continue to get better? He’s done that.”