PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have a few arbitration decisions they will have to make this offseason, and Spencer Horwitz is one of them.

Horwitz is up for his first year of arbitration, but unlike his Pirates teammates, he hasn't reached three years of service time yet, as most players do when they are done with pre-arbitration.

He is one of the rare Super Two players who are also arbitration-eligible, but not in the way that most players are.

What Does it Mean That Spencer Horwitz is a Super Two player?

Super Two is players that are up for arbitration, between two and three years service time, but within the top 22% of that number.

MLB set the Super Two cutoff at two years and 133 days, per Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, or 2.133 for the numerical version.

Super Two players must have 86 days spent on an MLB active roster or injured list in the previous season, and aren't on a guaranteed contract, like a contract extension.

Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin signed a nine-year, $140 million contract extension in April, which means he'll never go through the arbitration process.

Horwitz is at two years and 152 days for his service time, 2.152, which makes him Super Two eligible.

This doesn't change how Horwitz will go about arbitration, as it's still his side offering up a salary number and the Pirates doing the same.

Horwitz has a projected salary of $2.5 million for 2027, and that's a figure that both the Pirates and he will likely agree to.

If they both sides don't come to an agreement, an arbitration panel will hear both sides' arguments and make a decision on which salary figure is accepted for the following season.

Pirates Need More From Spencer Horwitz in 2027

The 2026 season was a tale of two halves for Horwitz, who was incredible to start, but was awful to finish off.

Horwitz hit .280/.386/.455 for an OPS of .841 in 74 games through the first half of the season, with 69 hits, 11 doubles, 10 home runs, 33 RBI and 40 walks to 40 strikeouts.

He suffered a left hamstring injury and went on the 10-day injured list on June 24, when he ranked sixth in the National League/12th in MLB with a .386 on-base percentage and his 40 walks ranked tied-13th in the National League/tied-27th in MLB.

Horwitz came back on Aug. 2, which also included time missed with a concussion suffered on his rehab assignment, but was a completely different hitter the rest of the way.

He hit .180/.263/.201 for an OPS of .464 in his final 40 games, with 25 hits in 139 at-bats, three doubles, no home runs, 16 RBI and 14 walks to 33 strikeouts.

Horwitz was one of the worst hitters in baseball following his return from injury, with the lowest slugging percentage (.201), second-lowest OPS, tied for the eighth-lowest batting average and the 11th-lowest on-base percentage.

The Pirates need Horwitz to do what he was doing in the first half of 2026 throughout 2027, excelling at all different parts of the lineup, practicing great plate discipline, adding some power and serving as an integral part of a team focused on making the postseason.