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Pirates Swap Starter to Guardians for First Baseman

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On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded starting pitcher Luis Ortiz to the Cleveland Guardians for infielder Spencer Horwitz. It’s the proverbial good deal for both teams. Cleveland was looking for starting pitching while Horwitz is expected to step in as the Pirates’ first baseman. The Pirates included pitching prospects Michael Kennedy and Josh Hartle in the deal.

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Pirates Trade Ortiz to Guardians for Horwitz

Despite the needs of both teams, the deal comes as a surprise because the Guardians had acquired Horwitz in the afternoon from the Toronto Blue Jays for infielder Andrés Giménez. Horwitz wasn’t a Guardian long enough to fill out his W-4 form. If there was any thought that the Horwitz acquisition may have been a precursor to Cleveland trading Josh Naylor, that notion was washed away by this deal.

Pirates Get Their First Baseman

It’s no surprise that the Pirates would turn to their favorite trade partner, the Blue Jays, to fill a need. General manager Ben Cherington was Toronto’s vice president of baseball operations from 2016-19. Manager Derek Shelton was their quality control coach in 2017. The trade also reunites Horwitz with Matt Hague, hired away from the Jays to be the Pirates’ hitting coach last month.

Horwitz, 27, played for Toronto in 2023-24. In 2024, he was used at first base 41 times and second base 39 times. Although no formal declaration has been made as far as how the Pirates intend to use Horwitz, it seems clear that he’ll be in the first base mix rather than being tossed into their crowded middle infield competition. In 112 games with the Jays, the left-handed hitter has hit .264/.355/.428, 13 HR, and 47 RBI. In three seasons at Triple-A, he’s hit .316/.433/.471, 42 HR, and 279 RBI in 448 games.

This deal is likely to further infuriate a tired fan base that hoped for a bigger name to fill the first base void. However, his OBP suggests a smart, maturing hitter with upside. Furthermore, the fact that the Guardians also requested that the Pirates include two prospects suggests that they viewed Horwitz as having more value than Ortiz.

Guardians Get a Hard-Throwing Starter

Ortiz, 25, pitched for the Pirates from 2022-24. For his career, he’s 12-13 with a 3.93 ERA and 1.326 WHIP in 59 games, of which 34 were starts. He showed promise in his rookie year, but after a mysterious drop in velocity in 2023, he entered the 2024 season without a prominent role. That quickly changed when he excelled in relief and injuries created a need for a starter.

Indeed, Ortiz came through with flying colors. In 2024, he was 7-6 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.113 WHIP, all career bests. The velocity returned while Ortiz showed improved control. He struck out 19.2 percent of batters faced while walking just 7.6 percent. Opponents hit just .218/.288/.372 against him. In spite of his improvement, the Pirates surely viewed him as expendable with several pitching prospects expected to arrive in 2024.

Ortiz keeps batters guessing by throwing a four-seamer, slider, sinker, and cutter, all of which he gives almost equal usage. The four-seam fastball averages 95.9 mph as opposed to his 85.8 mph slider. With Cleveland losing Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb to free agency, Boyd to the Chicago Cubs and Cobb to the Detroit Tigers, and returning only two starters with ERAs under 4.00, Ortiz could slide into the No. 3 spot in their rotation.

 

Photo Credit: © Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images

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