PITTSBURGH (AP) — Spencer Horwitz was settling in to watch “Gladiator II” with his girlfriend last week when his phone buzzed.
By the time the movie — with a running time of 2 hours, 28 minutes — was over, the first baseman had been traded.
Twice.
First from Toronto to Cleveland in a deal that sent Gold Glove second baseman Andrés Giménez to the Blue Jays. About an hour later, the Guardians flipped Horwitz to Pittsburgh in exchange for three pitchers.
To be honest, Horwitz was kind of entertained. Relieved, too.
While Horwitz was “ecstatic” when he heard he was heading to the reigning AL Central champions, he was a little confused, too.
“I know they have some really good first basemen," he said. “And they had (traded) Giménez and I was curious if I was going to play second, third or kind of what the plan was.”
Turns out, none of the above.
Enter the Pirates, who have had a revolving door at the position since trading Josh Bell to Washington in December 2020. Pittsburgh has employed four different opening day first basemen over the last four years: Colin Moran, Yoshi Tsutsugo, Carlos Santana and Rowdy Tellez.
Horwitz, who is under team control through the end of the decade, will have an opportunity to provide some stability for a team that believes the window to contend is fully open thanks to a starting rotation led by NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes.
“I mean the pitching everyone talks about and how unbelievable it is,” Horwitz said. “And facing the Pirates in the minor leagues, I felt it firsthand. They all throw hard. They all throw inside. They all have really hard offspeed. So I'm glad they're going to be my team.”
The 27-year-old Horwitz hit .265 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 97 games for Toronto last season. While he understands that at 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds he doesn't profile as a traditional power hitter at what is considered a power position, Horwitz doesn't think he needs to hit the ball over the fence 30-40 times a year to be effective at the plate.
“I think I bring a quality at-bat and can work counts and can do damage,” he said. “Damage isn't just home runs, that’s what I’ve learned. It can come in doubles. It can come in triples. I’m not a burner that might get a lot of triples, but they’ll come.”
Horwitz worked 42 walks last season, and his .357 on-base percentage would have led the Pirates, who finished near the bottom of the National League in most major offensive categories, leading to an overhaul that included bringing on Matt Hague as hitting coach last month. Horwitz and Hague worked together extensively while both were with the Blue Jays.
“He’s been tremendous in my career,” Horwitz said of Hague. “And I know I wouldn’t be here without him. So I know he’s going to bring great things, not just for me, but for the entire organization.”
It's unclear where Horwitz might fit in the Pittsburgh lineup, which figures to be anchored by left fielder Bryan Reynolds and shortstop Oneil Cruz. Horwitz's ability to get on base means he could fit in nicely at leadoff, though he could fit somewhere in the middle.
Not that it matters to Horwitz, who understands that not many 24th-round picks ever reach the majors, especially now that the amateur draft goes just 20 rounds deep. He remembers being an undersized prospect “doing everything I could to get noticed.”
It worked, though now he knows that the real work is just beginning.
“I’m definitely proud of where I’ve gotten to, but I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied,” he said. “I obviously have a lot more I want to accomplish in this game, and hopefully I can do that in the black and gold.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
FILE - Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Spencer Horwitz reaches for an infield grounder during a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks tumbled to one of their worst days of the year after the Federal Reserve hinted Wednesday it may deliver fewer shots of adrenaline for the U.S. economy in 2025 than earlier thought.
The S&P 500 fell 2.9%, just shy of its biggest loss for the year, to pull further from its all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,123 points, or 2.6%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 3.6%.
The Fed said Wednesday it’s cutting its main interest rate for a third time this year, continuing the sharp turnaround begun in September when it started lowering rates from a two-decade high to support the job market. Wall Street loves easier interest rates, but that cut was already widely expected.
The bigger question centers on how much more the Fed will cut next year. A lot is riding on it, particularly after expectations for a series of cuts in 2025 helped the U.S. stock market set an all-time high 57 times so far in 2024.
Fed officials released projections on Wednesday showing the median expectation among them is for two more cuts to the federal funds rate in 2025, or half a percentage point’s worth. That’s down from the four cuts expected just three months ago.
“We are in a new phase of the process,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said. The central bank has already quickly eased its main interest rate by a full percentage point to a range of 4.25% to 4.50% since September.
Asked why Fed officials are looking to slow their cuts, Powell pointed to how the job market looks to be performing well overall and how recent inflation readings have picked up. He also cited uncertainties that will require policy makers to react to upcoming, to-be-determined changes in the economy.
While lower rates can goose the economy by making it cheaper to borrow and boosting prices for investments, they can also offer more fuel for inflation.
Powell said some Fed officials, but not all, are also already trying to incorporate uncertainties inherent in a new administration coming into the White House. Worries are rising on Wall Street that President-elect Donald Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could further juice inflation, along with economic growth.
“When the path is uncertain, you go a little slower,” Powell said. It’s “not unlike driving on a foggy night or walking into a dark room full of furniture. You just slow down.”
One official, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, thought the central bank should not have even cut rates this time around. She was the lone vote against Wednesday’s rate cut.
The reduced expectations for 2025 rate cuts sent Treasury yields rising in the bond market, squeezing the stock market.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.51% from 4.40% late Tuesday, which is a notable move for the bond market. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, climbed to 4.35% from 4.25%.
On Wall Street, stocks of companies that can feel the most pressure from higher interest rates fell to some of the worst losses.
Stocks of smaller companies did particularly poorly, for example. Many need to borrow to fuel their growth, meaning they can feel more pain when having to pay higher interest rates for loans. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks tumbled 4.4%.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, General Mills dropped 3.1% despite reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected. The maker of Progresso soups and Cheerios said it will increase its investments in brands to help them grow, which pushed it to cut its forecast for profit this fiscal year.
Nvidia, the superstar stock responsible for a chunk of Wall Street’s rally to records in recent years, fell 1.1% to extend its weekslong funk. It has dropped more than 13% from its record set last month and fallen in nine of the last 10 days as its big momentum slows.
On the winning end of Wall Street, Jabil jumped 7.3% to help lead the market after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The electronics company also raised its forecast for revenue for its full fiscal year.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 178.45 points to 5,872.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,123.03 to 42,326.87, and the Nasdaq composite skidded 716.37 to 19,392.69.
In stock markets abroad, London’s FTSE 100 edged up by less than 0.1% after data showed inflation accelerated to 2.6% in November, its highest level in eight months. The Bank of England is also meeting on interest rates this week and will announce its decision on Thursday.
In Japan, where the Bank of Japan will wrap up its own policy meeting on Friday, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.7%. That was despite a 23.7% jump for Nissan Motor Corp., which said it was in talks on closer collaboration with Honda Motor Co., though no decision had been made on a possible merger. Honda Motor’s stock lost 3%.
Nissan, Honda and Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors Corp. agreed in August to share components for electric vehicles like batteries and to jointly research software for autonomous driving to adapt better to dramatic changes in the auto industry.
AP Writer Zimo Zhong contributed.
Specialist Meric Greenbaum works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as the rate decision of the Federal Reserve is announced, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Michael Milano works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Anthony Matesic, left, works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Peter Mancuso works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
People walk on Wall Street in New York's Financial District on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A scooter passes the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
