1 impending Pirates return and 1 promotion that could solve offensive issues

Calling the Pittsburgh Pirates' offense lousy is a bit of an understatement. It has straight up been one of the worst in baseball. Although they are 14 games below .500, there is still time to turn things around, and there are two hitters that could help solve things. Spencer Horwitz is about to end his rehab assignment, and Nick Solak is having an absurd start to the year.

Both of them are down in Indianapolis and would fill positions of need on the current roster. The Pirates don't need to stress about positional fit anyway, given that there are just three consistent hitters in the lineup right now. Pittsburgh should take whoever they can find to improve this offense, and thankfully, these options fit.

The Pirates need these two Indianapolis bats to help save offense.

Horwitz is expected to join this squad at some point, but the time may be now. He is nearing the end of the 20-day limit for his rehab assignment, meaning the Pirates have to make a decision on him soon, whether they activate him or place him back on the injured list. Given that he is healthily playing in Triple-A, he will be likely activated within the next few days.

His left-handed bat is just what the Pirates needed. Oneil Cruz, Adam Frazier, and Ji-Hwan Bae are the only lefties on the active roster, and he will fill in a major hole in that aspect. Additionally, Matt Gorski has not been a consistent enough bat to hold down first base, and Jared Triolo plays everywhere in the infield. Horwitz will quickly become the everyday first baseman, and his bat is expected to suffice.

Right now on his rehab assignment, he has played in 12 games and has been better as of late with Indianapolis. He struggled in his five games with Altoona, but has improved with the more at-bats he has gotten. Across his time with both clubs, Horwitz is batting .255 (.323 in Triple-A) with a 17.4% strikeout rate and .677 OPS (.817 in Triple-A). He just hit his first home run, and the Pirates desperately need to see more power from his bat.

Solak is the other player who should get the call. In limited major league action in his career, Solak has been slightly below average, and even that would be an upgrade to this team. He can play anywhere the Pirates need him to, besides shortstop, and his start to the season in Triple-A has been remarkable.

Through 31 games this season, Solak is batting .393 with a wRC+ of 183 and a 14% strikeout rate. He has belted six home runs, six doubles, and a triple to generate a .625 slugging percentage. That pairs with an on-base percentage of .452 to create a whopping 1.077 OPS. This may not stick for an entire season, but a minor dropoff from that would still be excellent in Pittsburgh.

These two could really turn this offense around if called up. Horwitz could simply replace Gorski, and Solak will need a 40-man spot, so maybe it is time to DFA Ji-Hwan Bae (or maybe even Tommy Pham). It's now or never for the Pirates to turn this ship around, and these two could very well be the spark this team needs to win.