With Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, and Mitch Keller set to lead what should be one of the National League's best starting rotations in 2025, the Pittsburgh Pirates' offseason checklist really included one important thing - add more bats. With Skenes and Jones making the league minimum and only two players (Keller and Bryan Reynolds) making over $7 million in 2025, it felt as if the Pirates would have the financial flexibility to make at least one exciting offseason move, especially when they have a legitimate chance to compete in one of the league's worst divisions.
Once again, Pirates owner Bob Nutting outdid himself. The Pirates payroll has actually decreased, thanks in large part to the departure of Aroldis Chapman who made over $10 million last season. Not exactly what you want to see when you have perhaps the best pitcher in the world on your roster making the league minimum and playing in such a winnable division!
The biggest move made by the Pirates saw them trade for Spencer Horwitz, a first baseman who, while showing a lot of promise in 2024, only has 112 games played under his belt. Of course, in true Pirates fashion, that trade has already backfired, with the 27-year-old suffering a wrist injury which is set to sideline him for several weeks.
1B Spencer Horwitz had a procedure to his right wrist last week to address chronic symptoms. The procedure was performed by Dr. Thomas Graham.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 12, 2025
We anticipate a full recovery in approximately six-to-eight weeks.
Is this the end of the world? No. In fact, Horwitz might even be ready by Opening Day if he's able to meet the low end of his recovery time. Still, this is a bad omen to his start in Pittsburgh, and highlights just how disappointing this offseason was for the Pirates. In fact, Pittsburgh apparently knew about said wrist issue when they acquired him.
Ben Cherington said the Pirates knew Spencer Horwitz had “symptoms” of wrist issues at the time he was acquired via trade, but the team still felt comfortable enough to make the move. He added that the issues that led to Horwitz’s surgery surfaced after PiratesFest. pic.twitter.com/LVmFpACIHL
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) February 12, 2025
That's not ideal, and should make fans question why the Pirates made such a move in the first place.
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Pirates lackluster offense looks even worse thanks to Spencer Horwitz injury
While Horwitz isn't the star Pirates fans were hoping the team would attempt to add, he was still a very useful player in the 2024 campaign. He slashed .265/.357/.433 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI in 97 games for the Toronto Blue Jays, posting a gaudy .864 OPS against right-handed pitching. There was reason to believe he'd be an incredibly useful player in a platoon role, and he might still be, but that start will likely be later than any Pirates fan would've hoped for.
Now, with Horwitz out, the Pirates can sign a veteran like Justin Turner or turn to the trade market, but knowing this organization with Nutting's wallet running the show, they'll likely turn to internal options like Billy Cook or even Darick Hall. I guess this is what happens when he's more focused on acquiring a baseball card than he is spending money on his own team.
Pirates fans had little to look forward to outside of watching their star-studded rotation trio dominate thanks to the organization's refusal to bolster the offense at all. Now, with Horwitz out, there's even less to be excited about. Hopefully, the team turns around and makes a move in response to this injury or, at the very least, Horwitz recovers on the short-end of this timeline. Unfortunately, knowing Nutting's history, the only realistic possibility is the latter.