Pirates' 1st-base plans in flux after Horwitz's wrist surgery

BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates acquired Spencer Horwitz this offseason with the intention of him being their Opening Day first baseman. That looks very much in doubt now.

The team announced on Wednesday that Horwitz underwent surgery on his right wrist last week to address chronic symptoms, and the anticipation is he will make a full recovery in approximately six to eight weeks.

Horwitz had some symptoms with the Blue Jays last season, which the Pirates knew about before acquiring him from the Guardians on Dec. 10 for Luis Ortiz and pitching prospects Michael Kennedy and Josh Hartle. Horwitz, however, started to experience new symptoms as he ramped up his hitting program for this season, something that general manager Ben Cherington was made aware of around PiratesFest last month. During a subsequent examination by Dr. Thomas Graham -- who had previously seen Horwitz last year with Toronto -- a new injury to the tendon in his wrist was identified.

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¡°[Dr. Graham is] really optimistic and confident coming out of the surgery that it feels like it went really well and that Spencer should be back doing baseball stuff at some point during Spring Training, and certainly with a chance to contribute in 2025,¡± Cherington said. ¡°We're not going to put a timeline on that right now. We need to take it a day at a time. But Dr. Graham and Spencer himself came out of the procedure really confident about what will happen in the next few weeks."

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Even if Horwitz¡¯s recovery time is on the shorter end, the Pirates are going to need at least a good backup plan at first base. While they¡¯ll be open-minded about an outside addition to fill the hole, they are focused on the guys they have in camp right now.

Two names that probably won¡¯t be in the mix are Bryan Reynolds and Endy Rodr¨ªguez. Reynolds worked on a first-base program this offseason, but he¡¯s an outfielder first and foremost. Rodr¨ªguez has Minor League experience at first base, but given that he is coming off of right elbow surgery, the Pirates want his focus to be as a catcher.

¡°He missed a full season, obviously a significant rehab,¡± Cherington said of Rodr¨ªguez. ¡°We really believe in him has a catcher -- believe he can be an everyday catcher in the future. Coming off the rehab, we want to give him a chance to settle in at that position.¡±

There are some internal options, though.

Jared Triolo won the National League Gold Glove for utility players last season and could handle the job. Billy Cook is primarily an outfielder, but he showed he could play first base last year. Adam Frazier is hardly a traditional pick, but he was brought in to be a utility infielder. Darick Hall and DJ Stewart are two veterans on Minor League deals, and an opening at first base would certainly help their chances at cracking the roster.

Major League first-base experience isn¡¯t a prerequisite in this search, one that should be better flushed out once all the position players report.

¡°I think once we get a full camp in here, we get everybody here, we'll make a better determination of how we're going to move forward,¡± manager Derek Shelton said. ¡°It's just going to provide opportunity for different guys at first base throughout Spring Training, and then we'll make a decision."

Other news and notes

? There¡¯s a familiar face in Pirates camp this year: Daniel Vogelbach. The former designated hitter is back with the organization as a special assistant to the hitting department, and he will split time between the Majors and Minors as a hitting coach. Vogelbach was a Blue Jay last season, so he also has a relationship with new hitting coach Matt Hague.

¡°He provides a really unique perspective of a guy that has just played as soon as last year, so we can talk about approach, we can talk about pitchers,¡± Shelton said. ¡°It's important. It's nice to have him here."

? The Pirates are planning to use Reynolds as a right fielder this season, Shelton said. The team planned to have him play right field more last season, but shifted him back to left out of necessity. Reynolds' arm was also the strong part of his defensive game last year, racking up 11 assists, tied with Ian Happ of the Cubs for the most among NL outfielders.

¡°Now, we're going to shorten up where he's at [in right],¡± Shelton said. ¡°I think we can take advantage of his full skill set by being in right."