It was inevitable for the Toronto Blue Jays to eventually trade away some of their infield depth— the question was more about when and who would be dealt. The club boasts roughly four to seven players also looking for time in the big leagues next season and there just simply isn’t enough playing time to go around, and that’s before the Jays made any moves this offseason.

This past Tuesday, Ross Atkins dipped into that depth and the Blue Jays traded for Cleveland Guardians Gold Glove-winning second baseman Andrés Giménez and right-handed pitcher Nick Sandlin in exchange for infielder Spencer Horwitz and prospect outfielder Nick Mitchell.

At first glance, this trade can look puzzling at first. The Maryland-born player became one of the Blue Jays better bats for the team down the stretch that underperformed for the majority of the campaign. The club even cut ties with Cavan Biggio to bring Horwitz to the Major Leagues, the first domino to fall from the core group. But there is a method to this madness and the key is in the details of who Horwitz is as a player.

So, what exactly convinced the Blue Jays to pull the trigger on this trade this winter? Here is a quick analysis of why Toronto deemed this trade necessary.

The 27-year-old infielder made his big league debut with the Jays in 2023, a cup of coffee to the tune of 39 at-bats. During that stretch, Horwitz slashed .256/.341/.385 and recorded 105 wRC+ in 15 games.

The infielder struggled out of the gate in Spring Training and returned to triple-A to start the season but impressed in Buffalo, posting a .335/.456/.514 slash line to the tune of a .970 OPS. The Maryland product continued this stretch when the Blue Jays carved out more playing time for him in 2024. Through 97 games, Horwitz hit for a .265 average and recorded .357 OBP and .433 SLG. He also demonstrated flashes of power by hitting 12 home runs while scoring 46 runs. His strikeout rate sat well below the MLB average at 18.4%, highlighting his ability to get on base consistently while providing tough at-bats on a day-to-day basis.

Given the Blue Jays’ overall offensive lethargy, Horwitz was one player who stood out amongst the group and gave the team some power when they were struggling to find it internally. But his bat and plate skills alone couldn’t quite pull Toronto up from the hole. The offensive conundrum Horwitz brought to the table was the endurance of his power bat. There was no doubt that the infielder was a testament to the brighter side of the Blue Jays’ development system, but he also served as proof that someone with his profile wasn’t going to save the lineup for months to come – more moves and players would be needed.

If Toronto planned to explore the trade market for help this offseason, dipping into their depth of infield talent was going to be needed. With nine infielders on the 40-man roster, it became clear that the Blue Jays needed to make hard decisions to address the existing weaknesses that plagued the roster – power, bullpen, and maybe adding another starter.

While it would have been desirable for Toronto to part ways with the least promising talents in their depth charts, the nature of the trade market requires paying a higher price. In that sense, sending someone of Horwitz’s calibre to bring players who can effectively fill in the missing gaps.

From the infielder’s perspective, his path to consistent playing time on the field was blocked by All-Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. As a natural first baseman, the Jays had Horwitz take reps at second base but his fielding ability lacked behind most of the other internal options and he spent a good chunk of the stretch in the DH spot instead. There wasn’t an outcome where Horwitz could replace Guerrero barring the slugger moving to third base.

In addition, Horwitz projects much better as a platoon player than an everyday player at this stage of his career. Against right-handed pitching for his career, Horwitz produced much better numbers with a .285 average, a .380 OBP, and a .864 OPS – that’s compared to his unfortunately unimpressive batting average of .194 against lefty pitchers and a .522 OPS. There could still be a world where the infielder puts up solid numbers against the southpaws but playing to his strength would be far more beneficial for a player with his profile.

Horwitz is projected to slash .267/.367/.417 with 11 home runs and a 19.1% strikeout rate in the coming season. His on-base skills would have been nice for the Blue Jays to keep, but this skill set is something newly-minted Blue Jay Andrés Giménez has shown glimpses of in the past. In 2022, the former Guardian amassed a .297/.371/.466 slash line with a 141 wRC+ and 17 home runs and while his production has tailed off since that impressive campaign, the Jays seem to believe they can find the same bat from his 2022 playing days. According to Steamer, Giménez is projected to slash .263/.317/.394 with 13 home runs and a 17% strikeout rate in 2025. Horwitz bests Giménez in his OBP because he walks almost twice as much as the second baseman but Giménez edges him slightly in the home run total and strikeout percentage.

There is certainly a risk to Giménez’s bat continuing to curtail in a downward trend, which is a bad sign if the Blue Jays front office fails to add some more power to the lineup this winter. However, the Blue Jays found a way to cut down on their infield glut by finding a trading partner in Cleveland, bringing in a veteran infielder who is going to be the pencilled-in name at second base, with third base being the only base open heading into Spring Training barring further signings and trades. This deal will make even more sense for Toronto with further free-agent signings or trades that can bring more offensive bursts to the lineup, as the Jays can take the slight hit for a glove-first infielder at second base by getting power and home runs from other areas of the lineup.

For now, the Blue Jays will roll the dice with Giménez at second base and see whether Horwitz will continue his offensive production with the Pirates organization, who acquired the infielder shortly after the trade with Toronto.