Latest Pirates rumors provide clear role for underrated rookie

One of the notable moves the Pittsburgh Pirates made at the 2024 trade deadline was swapping prospects with the Baltimore Orioles. The Bucs sent right-hander Patrick Reilly to the O’s in exchange for utility man Billy Cook. However, what was once thought to be a lottery ticket could be evolving into something more. Given how first base, and potentially right field, are shaping up, Cook could end up playing a pretty big role for the Pirates in 2025.

The Bucs acquired Spencer Horwitz to solve some of their first base issues. Although Horwitz is a good hitter and could continue to improve (especially under the tutelage of Matt Hague), he did have his shortcomings against left-handed pitching in 2024. In Horwitz’s rookie season, he had a .285/.380/.484 triple-slash with a 147 wRC+ against right-handers in 300 plate appearances. However, when asked to go into the box vs a lefty, Horwitz hit just .194/.272/.250 with a 53 wRC+.

Horwitz makes far better contact -- and a lot more of it -- when facing a righty. He had just an 18.7% whiff rate with an 88.7 MPH average exit velocity and an 8.9% barrel percentage against opposite-handed hurlers. Against same-handed pitchers, Horwitz saw universal decreases, posting a 21.4% whiff rate, an 85.7 MPH exit velocity, and a barrel rate clocking in at a meager 5.1%.

Granted, Horwitz had less than 100 trips to the dish vs LHP (81, to be exact), and 2024 was only his rookie year, so he has plenty of room to improve this part of his game. Still, the inclusion of Cook in a platoon could help mitigate some of Horwitz’s struggles, and remove some of the pressure to quickly improve when facing southpaws. 

Where Pirates' Billy Cook can best help 2025 roster

Another recent rumor floating around is that the Pirates are interested in Alex Verdugo. Verdugo is a career .280/.334/.447 batter when facing righties. That also comes with a 7.6% walk rate and an outstanding 14.4% strikeout rate. Similar to Horwitz, his numbers when facing lefties are far less impressive. Verdugo has a career .253/.314/.337 line in 939 plate appearances. His walk rate of 7.4% and his K% of 16.8% are both similar to what he has posted vs. right-handed pitching, but the end result is an OPS 113 points lower than his OPS when facing righties.

Like Horwitz, Verdugo’s batted ball metrics are a lot better when he comes across a pitcher of opposite-handedness. He has swung and missed at just 15.6% of pitches with an 89.9 MPH exit velocity and 7.1% barrel percentage throughout his career vs RHP. In his playing time against LHP, Verudgo has an 18.3% whiff rate, 86.8 MPH exit velo, and a 3.2% barrel rate.

Meanwhile, Cook demolished left-handed pitching at Triple-A to the tune of a .301/.436/.566 triple-slash. He put up a .386 xwOBA and a barrel percentage of 13% when facing lefties. There was still some swing-and-miss in his game, however, with a 27.9% whiff rate. Cook’s 23.5% K% wasn’t anything great, but he offset that with an outstanding 16.5% walk rate.

Cook still maintained some decent numbers against same-handed pitching with a .260/.336/.441 slash and .318 xwOBA, but he was more prone to strikeouts in that scenario, with a 24.6% K% and 29.7% whiff rate. His barrel rate also fell to 8.2%, and he walked less frequently, with a 9.7% free pass rate. His numbers against LHP were far better than they were against RHP in 2024.

The Pirates would also make huge improvements with the defense by platooning Cook with Horwitz and/or Verdugo. Cook looked outstanding defensively in his small sample size of big-league playing time. He only played 85 innings in the outfield, but racked up a remarkable +6 defensive runs saved and +2 outs above average. He logged innings at each of the three outfield spots almost evenly. He played 27 innings in both left and right field, with 35 coming out of center. Cook also made two outfield assists.

As an added bonus, he displayed some solid defense at first base in 35 innings. Cook is plenty fast enough to play the outfield, as he was in the 93rd percentile of sprint speed in 2024.

Verdugo was a Gold Glove finalist in both 2023 and 2024 after he had +8 defensive runs saved and +2 outs above average. He was in the 94th percentile of position player arm strength, with a slightly above league-average jump on fly balls, but his route-running ability graded out as slightly below average. Horwitz’s defense at second base wasn’t great, but he had just -1 DRS and +1 OAA at first base. Pirates defenders at first base, and especially right field, graded out as below average in 2024, so this would be a huge upgrade for them.

Platooning Billy Cook with Horwitz and/or Verdugo, if the Pirates eventually sign the veteran outfielder, would improve the Pirates’ lineup and give them a good reason to use Cook. He’s done very well against lefty pitchers in the minor leagues, and would help cover Verdugo’s struggles against LHP and help Horwitz improve.