Breaking Down The Guardians Final Package For Andrés Gimenez
The Spencer Horwitz stint in Cleveland lasted about four hours, as he was dealt to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. What did the Guardians receive in return?
Late Tuesday night, the Cleveland Guardians pulled off another stunning move, shipping newly acquired 1B/2B Spencer Horwitz to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for RHP Luis Ortiz, No. 15 prospect Michael Kennedy and No. 17 prospect Josh Hartle.
Ultimately, the Guardians traded Andrés Gimenez and Nick Sandlin in exchange for Ortiz, Kennedy, Hartle and OF prospect Nick Mitchell — pretty nice piece of business by Chris Antonetti so let’s dive in.
Initially, as some of you may have read in my latest blog post, I was pretty stoked about the acquisition of Horwitz. I viewed him as a player with offensive upside with above average defense, however, his acquisition only created a greater logjam within the infield.
Here, Cleveland turns to the Pirates and flips Horwitz for one middle of the rotation arm and two pitching prospects with very high ceilings — an area of the organization in much greater need than the infield.
Ortiz is the headliner in this trade. The 25-year-old right-handed pitcher experienced a breakout year in 2024, following his conversion to being a full-time starter. He posted a 3.32 ERA in 135 IP — which would have ranked him first amongst Cleveland starters in 2024. He figures to slot in as the No. 3 starter for the time being, and similar to Horwitz is under club control through the 2029 season.
Ortiz operates with a five pitch mix, fastball, slider, sinker, cutter and changeup. He relies heavily on the fastball, slider combination, turning to those pitches nearly 50% of the time. However, the fastball is Ortiz’s best pitch, it reaches up to 98 MPH and possesses elite movement.
Perhaps the Guardians’ interest in Ortiz dates back to Aug. 31, when he dominated Cleveland through six innings of work. His line that day: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO.
Per Baseball Savant, strictly based on velocity and movement, Ortiz draws comparisons to Sandy Alcantara and Luis Castillo — two all-star pitchers in the league today. If Cleveland can turn Ortiz into anywhere near the capabilities of those two, this is highway robbery by the Guardians front office.
Getting Ortiz into the Guardians pitching lab has endless potential. The ceiling with the young arm is very high, and if Cleveland can improve his secondary pitches and increase his ground ball percentage, he will quickly move up the pecking order in the Guardians rotation.
Cleveland patches a hole in their rotation with a young controllable arm. Already I like this acquisition, but there is more.
In LHP Michael Kennedy, the Guardians acquire a 2022 fourth round pick of the Pirates. Kennedy will not blow you away with velocity, and is more of a crafty lefty with elite command. He has a three pitch mix, fastball, changeup and his best pitch the slider. He experienced a solid year in his first full season in professional baseball in 2024, striking out 95 batters in 83 IP while only walking 19.
Kennedy finished the season strong, piecing together his best start of the season in his final outing. The lefty struck out 10 batters across 5.2 IP, and that is the potential that Cleveland is banking on.
In terms of LHP Josh Hartle, he appears to be a bit more of a project. A 2024 third round pick, Hartle was believed to be a first round pick entering his final year of college ball. However, a poor season at Wake Forest dropped him down — thus, if Cleveland can get him back on track, Hartle has the potential of a No. 2 starter. Similar to Kennedy, Hartle is a command first pitcher with the ability to move all his pitches around the zone.
He works with a fastball, slider, cutter and changeup and according to scouts his reliance on his cutter this season is partially responsible for his struggles. Out of high school, he was viewed as one of the best arms in the country, therefore patience is key with the young lefty.
In hindsight, the Guardians were able to clear themselves of Gimenez’s contract, pave a way for Juan Brito/Travis Bazzana and additionally land a very promising starter to improve their rotation.
Now, this only all makes sense if Cleveland uses the money saved and reinvests it into this roster. This team is still in need of another capable starter and a bat first outfielder.
For the time being, I like this series of moves by the Guardians. However, that is contingent on what the rest of the offseason brings for this team.