The Pittsburgh Pirates had an outrageously underwhelming offseason, even by their usual low standards. It somehow got even worse on Tuesday night, just before pitchers and catchers start preparing for spring training.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, offseason acquisition Spencer Horwitz, a first basemen acquired in a three-team trade with Cleveland and Toronto, underwent wrist surgery and is expected to miss time during spring training with no timetable for his return.
This is a major problem for a couple of reasons.
For one, the Pirates were expecting Horwitz to play a big role at first base and fill a long-term position of need. He does not have an extensive Major League track record, but he hit well enough during the 2024 season that he is a somewhat intriguing bat to add to the left side of their lineup.
He is also one of the only players the Pirates actually added this offseason.
Outside of Horwitz, the only other Major League caliber player they added to their lineup (or bench) is veteran outfielder Tommy Pham, and even he is not likely to be much of an upgrade over what they previously had in the outfield.
That is a disappointing offseason any under circumstances. But especially so for a Pirates team that has won 76 games in each of the past two seasons and seems to be in the process of wasting a promising young pitcher staff that is led by Paul Skenes.
Skenes is already one of the best pitchers in baseball and should have been the type of superstar talent that drove the front office and ownership to try and compete sooner rather than later.
But nothing about their offseason indicated anything close to that level of urgency. Now the one player that could have been an upgrade to their lineup is sidelined before the season even begins with no timeline for his return.
Even if he does return in short order, a wrist injury could be problematic and linger for an extended period of time and well into the season.
