Pirates Place Infielder On Injured List Amid Breakout Season
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The Pittsburgh Pirates must proceed without one of their more productive hitters.
Pittsburgh placed Spencer Horwitz on the 10-day injured list Thursday with a left hamstring strain. The Pirates replaced him by recalling Jack Brannigan from Double-A Altoona.
Horwitz was enjoying a strong first half, setting career-highs in all three elements of his .280/.386/.455 slash line. With 10 home runs, the first baseman was just three away from setting a new personal benchmark.
The left-handed hitter displayed a polished plate approach, tallying as many walks as strikeouts (40) through 295 plate appearances. His .371 weighted on-base average ranks second to Bryan Reynolds among all Pirates players with at least 100 plate appearances this season.
Horwitz reached base in 13 of his last 15 games, all but one of which he spent in the leadoff role. The 28-year-old has registered a .883 OPS against right-handed pitchers in 2026.
It's a tough blow for a Pirates lineup also missing Oneil Cruz and Konnor Griffin. Ryan O'Hearn, who has spent most of the season in right field, started Thursday afternoon's game at first base.
Brannigan seems like an unexpected choice to join the big league club. The 25-year-old jumps straight from Double-A, where he was batting .235/.333/.522 with eight home runs and a 37.9 percent strikeout rate through 31 games.
He may not stay with the Pirates too long. Griffin, who has been out with a forearm injury all month, began his rehab assignment by hitting a triple and a home run in Wednesday's rehab game at Altoona.
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