Position preview: O'Hearn joins Horwitz as first-base option
Spencer Horwitz felt a sense of relief in the way he finished his 2025 season.
After two offseason trades, an injury that caused him to miss all of spring training and the start of the season, and some early struggles that saw him hit .232 with a .627 OPS in 46 games before the All-Star break, Horwitz found his groove in August and September.
Over the final 62 games, a .305/.396/.520 slash line, a .916 OPS, nine home runs, 35 RBIs and 29 walks compared to 32 strikeouts in over 200 plate appearances gave Horwitz plenty of confidence heading into the winter months.
"(It was) a weight off my shoulders," Horwitz said at PiratesFest. "I put a lot of pressure on myself early, being the only acquisition last year. I wanted to help this team so bad and I think I did a poor job of that in the beginning, just trying to do too much. But also with the injury, new team — it was a lot for me, honestly. I finally got that groove, got comfortable and I'm excited that hopefully I can start earlier this year."
A healthy Horwitz says he worked this offseason to improve his overall strength and bat speed, while also placing an emphasis on his first step quickness and trying to find a little more range in his defensive game. There's hope that he'll reap the benefits of his offseason work. But it's not as if Horwitz has the luxury of just assuming he'll be penciled into the lineup as the starting first baseman every day.
After signing a two-year deal in December, Ryan O'Hearn has entered the fold, giving the Pirates another offensive threat after hitting .281 with an .803 OPS and 17 home runs over 474 at-bats between Baltimore and San Diego during an All-Star season in 2025. O'Hearn will also factor into the first-base equation, though he is also capable of playing some right field while having some experience in left and at designated hitter.
It'll be interesting to see how the Pirates utilize both Horwitz and O'Hearn. The former is better equipped to face right-handed pitchers (.283 average last season) than lefties (.186), while the latter was productive against both (.278 vs. lefties; .281 vs. righties).
Horwitz said at PiratesFest that he's been told he'll likely spend some time at second base and DH, in addition to being at first, so it's possible that both could move around and share time at their primary position. But, while there is some uncertainty surrounding how they'll consistently be deployed, there is one thing that is certain: Both appear to be important pieces to the success of the Pirates offense in 2026.
"I think adding those two guys, Brandon (Lowe) and Ryan, they're two middle-of-the-order guys and that adds a lot of depth to our lineup," Horwitz said. "I think last year I hit seventh twice. I might be starting the year hitting seventh. I might be starting the year hitting first or second. I don't think that's a hit on my ability, I think that's a blessing that we have so much talent now. I think Ryan, Brandon, Bryan (Reynolds), Oneil (Cruz) — all of them — we're just super excited to be able to lean on each other. If somebody's having an off day, we know the guy behind us or in front of us will pick us up."
THE ASYLUM
Position preview: O'Hearn joins Horwitz as first-base option
Spencer Horwitz felt a sense of relief in the way he finished his 2025 season.
After two offseason trades, an injury that caused him to miss all of spring training and the start of the season, and some early struggles that saw him hit .232 with a .627 OPS in 46 games before the All-Star break, Horwitz found his groove in August and September.
Over the final 62 games, a .305/.396/.520 slash line, a .916 OPS, nine home runs, 35 RBIs and 29 walks compared to 32 strikeouts in over 200 plate appearances gave Horwitz plenty of confidence heading into the winter months.
"(It was) a weight off my shoulders," Horwitz said at PiratesFest. "I put a lot of pressure on myself early, being the only acquisition last year. I wanted to help this team so bad and I think I did a poor job of that in the beginning, just trying to do too much. But also with the injury, new team — it was a lot for me, honestly. I finally got that groove, got comfortable and I'm excited that hopefully I can start earlier this year."
A healthy Horwitz says he worked this offseason to improve his overall strength and bat speed, while also placing an emphasis on his first step quickness and trying to find a little more range in his defensive game. There's hope that he'll reap the benefits of his offseason work. But it's not as if Horwitz has the luxury of just assuming he'll be penciled into the lineup as the starting first baseman every day.
After signing a two-year deal in December, Ryan O'Hearn has entered the fold, giving the Pirates another offensive threat after hitting .281 with an .803 OPS and 17 home runs over 474 at-bats between Baltimore and San Diego during an All-Star season in 2025. O'Hearn will also factor into the first-base equation, though he is also capable of playing some right field while having some experience in left and at designated hitter.
It'll be interesting to see how the Pirates utilize both Horwitz and O'Hearn. The former is better equipped to face right-handed pitchers (.283 average last season) than lefties (.186), while the latter was productive against both (.278 vs. lefties; .281 vs. righties).
Horwitz said at PiratesFest that he's been told he'll likely spend some time at second base and DH, in addition to being at first, so it's possible that both could move around and share time at their primary position. But, while there is some uncertainty surrounding how they'll consistently be deployed, there is one thing that is certain: Both appear to be important pieces to the success of the Pirates offense in 2026.
"I think adding those two guys, Brandon (Lowe) and Ryan, they're two middle-of-the-order guys and that adds a lot of depth to our lineup," Horwitz said. "I think last year I hit seventh twice. I might be starting the year hitting seventh. I might be starting the year hitting first or second. I don't think that's a hit on my ability, I think that's a blessing that we have so much talent now. I think Ryan, Brandon, Bryan (Reynolds), Oneil (Cruz) — all of them — we're just super excited to be able to lean on each other. If somebody's having an off day, we know the guy behind us or in front of us will pick us up."
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