Spencer Horwitz is on the mend

Horwitz appears to behind in his rehab as well. When he had surgery back in February, the time was six to eight weeks. Today marks nine weeks and he has yet to start any sort of rehab assignment. However, there has been positive development as Horwitz did take batting practice at PNC yesterday.

While that is no doubt encouraging, Horwitz is still likely several weeks away from joining the big league club. Because his injury happened in the offseason, he missed all of Spring Training, and will need at least a couple of weeks of game action once his rehab assignment begins to get himself in shape and ramp up his workload.

While he played more second base with the Blue Jays, Horwitz was projected to be the everyday first baseman for Pittsburgh. With him on the shelf, that job has fallen to Endy Rodriguez, who is normally a catcher.

Horwitz made his debut with the Blue Jays in 2023, appearing in 15 games, before breaking through somewhat last year, a season in which played in 97 games, splitting time between 1B, 2B, and DH.

A lefty bat with a high on-base percentage and a decent amount of pop, Horwitz will be a big boost to the Pirates lineup whenever he is physically ready. His return will also Rodriguez to return his focus to catching.

Hopefully, he'll be able to his debut by end of May.