SEATTLE — Thinking back on his spring training experience, Spencer Horwitz recognized he didn’t handle the pressure of competing for a job well.
After getting a small taste of the major leagues last season, Horwitz was in the mix to earn a bench role with the club to start the season. But thoughts of trades and free-agent signings preoccupied his mind. At the time, the Toronto Blue Jays had also signed minor-league deals with a pair of veterans — Daniel Vogelbach and Joey Votto — who profiled similarly to Horwitz, leading to further pressure and stress.
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“I should have just focused on baseball and focused on what I do well and getting better,” he said, reflecting on the experience months later. “My mind was all over the place. And you add that in and then I start putting more pressure on myself. It wasn’t a good space for me.”
Horwitz hit .125 in spring with a .405 OPS, and at the end of camp, he was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo, a level he had all but conquered last season. Horwitz and Blue Jays manager John Schneider had a frank conversation in which the 26-year-old admitted he played his way into the minors with his performance.
“I remember one of the last things (Schneider) said is, ‘Force our hand — force our hand to make us call you up.’ I think that’s what I did,” Horwitz said.
Indeed, after hitting .335/.456/.514 in 57 games with the Buffalo Bisons, Horwitz was finally called up to the Blue Jays in early June and has only continued to produce at the plate, while making a seamless transition to second base, a relatively new position he’s learning on the fly. Since his season debut on June 8, Horwitz has hit .311/.446/.473 in 25 games. He has also reached base safely in 20 of the 21 games he’s played as a starter, including twice in Saturday’s 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
Spencer Horwitz…we WERE familiar with your game 👀 pic.twitter.com/7uGanftvRe
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 3, 2024
In a Blue Jays season defined by disappointment and underperformance as the club continues to sit 8 1/2 games out of an American League wild-card spot, Horwitz’s play has been among the few encouraging storylines. Currently thriving in the lineup’s two-hole, he’s so far played his way into a bigger role this season and has earned an extended look to see if he can be a significant part of the club.
“He’s more comfortable, obviously,” Schneider said. “I think a lot of guys go through that after their first initial call-up, and (he) understands that there’s still adjustments to be made and work to be done and not resting on whatever it is, 80 at-bats here.”
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Understanding “the work never stops” is one lesson Horwitz said he’s absorbed about playing pro baseball.
“You always think about, ‘I want to get to the big leagues, I want to get to the big leagues,’ and I got a taste of it last year,” he said. “I had that feeling again in Buffalo this year that, ‘I want to get back to the big leagues, I want to get back to the big leagues,’ but not much changes besides the third deck and the stuff’s a little harder and a little sharper.”
But as his manager indicated, Horwitz has looked far more comfortable during this stint with the Blue Jays. The second baseman said he owes that to feeling a little less overwhelmed by the major-league experience.
While he said he still feels awestruck sometimes when he enters an MLB stadium for the very first time — playing at Fenway Park with his family in attendance last month was particularly special, he said — when he steps into the batter’s box, he’s able to lock in and block out the noise and bright lights much better than he could last year.
“Once the game starts or I get into my routines, it kind of settles back down,” he said. “Last year, it didn’t settle down as much. I’d say this year, it’s just really leaning into my routines to bring that comfort level to me.”
In his short time with the Blue Jays this year, Horwitz said he’s most pleased with his ability to have competitive at-bats, including a memorable 12-pitch battle against Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase that ended with a walk. Since he joined the Blue Jays, Horwitz ranks fifth in the American League (min. 75 plate appearances) in on-base percentage.
“Giving at-bats away, they’re so precious and it can change your career — one swing to really figure something out in an 11-1 game or a 2-1 game,” he said “It’s something I’ve done a pretty good job of here. I think I could do a little better.”
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Playing steady defence at second base is also something Horwitz is proud of. Back in 2019, when he was in short-season rookie ball, his then-manager Casey Candaele, who would later manage him in Buffalo too, approached him about playing second base. He did for a couple of games until it was pushed to the back burner and he settled into playing primarily first base and left field in the minors.
But this year, the Blue Jays shifted Horwitz to second base, a position he dabbled with in high school and played only sparingly in the minors. But the thinking was that the positional move expands Horwitz’s versatility — something the Blue Jays love — and his offensive profile of making contact and getting on base fits better as a prototypical second baseman rather than at first base, which favours power and slugging percentage. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base, it also opened up a path for Horwitz at a position that is much more fluid on Toronto’s roster.
Horwitz has been leaning on some of the Blue Jays’ other infielders to learn the position, including Bo Bichette, Ernie Clement, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Davis Schneider.
“I’m no Gold Glover right now, and I understand that, but I understand that maybe one day I could be and the only way that’s going to happen is through hard work and consistency and more opportunities and taking advantage of those opportunities,” Horwitz said.
After his initial setback in spring, Horwitz has been taking advantage of all the opportunities the Blue Jays have given him this season. And so far, he’s been rewarded.
(Photo: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
