PiratesFest kept the energy high as another group of players stopped by our booth to talk shop, reflect on the offseason, and look ahead to 2026. This round featured Spencer Horwitz, Rafael Flores, and Isaac Mattson, each offering insight from a different corner of the roster. From lineup depth to bullpen chemistry, the theme was clear. This group believes something special is brewing in Pittsburgh.
Spencer Horwitz: Healthy and Locked In
Spencer Horwitz walked into PiratesFest feeling noticeably different than a year ago.
“It’s great,” Horwitz said. “Physically I feel great. Mentally I am ready to get going. I’m ready to get 2026 Pirates baseball rolling.”
That confidence comes from familiarity with the club. After spending more time in the organization, Horwitz explained how much easier everything feels now.
“The comfortability level is just completely different. Just knowing the guys and knowing where to go, and who the media is, and knowing who’s who in the front office. That comfortability and familiarity makes a huge difference. I don’t think people understand that enough. That’s definitely great but also being healthy is a really good feeling. I’m just excited to go into this season healthy.”
When asked directly about the injury that impacted him last year, Horwitz made it clear where his focus is.
“That injury is behind me now.”
When the conversation turned into talking about roster upgrades, Horwitz lit up.
“More offense,” he said. “Adding O’Hearn, adding Lowe, adding Mangum, we added two All-Stars. That’s remarkable.”
He also pointed to the work being done by returning stars and what he thinks can happen when mixed into a retooled lineup.
“I know Bryan and Oneil had seasons last year that they weren’t happy about, and I know they have been working their butts off all offseason to get back into their peak form. I expect great things from this lineup. I wouldn’t be surprised if Oneil goes crazy, Bryan goes crazy, by adding those guys. I think those are two guys that have a ton of experience in the regular season and the postseason that can only help us.”
Lineup depth stood out as a major advantage heading into 2026.
“Any of us could be hitting one through seven,” he said. “Depending on who’s swinging it well that day, it can change. That takes pressure off everyone.”
Horwitz’s offseason routine reflects how close the season feels.
“I’m hitting five times a week and fielding ground balls four or five times a week,” he said. “It’s almost go time.”
Rafael Flores: Building Trust and Letting the Game Come Naturally
Rafael Flores did not hold back when asked about catching one of the hardest throwers in the system.
“Disgusting,” Flores said about Seth Hernandez. “There is no reason a nineteen-year-old should be throwing a hundred. It’s ridiculous. The changeup, out of the hand it’s a heater and then it just parachutes and it just disappears.”
Comfort behind the plate comes from relationships, and Flores credited the pitching staff for making the transition a smooth one.
“Everybody made it so easy. I mean I had Barco, I had Bubba, I had all these guys that are super friendly and open to wanting to get better and it just made everything so much easier. I was able to be myself 100-percent, ask some questions even if they were dumb questions, and that’s how we got to know each other. Now, I got to catch them in the big leagues and it was sick.”
Managing a pitching staff while staying locked in offensively requires balance, and he noted that staying present has been key.
“That is the battle catchers face every year throughout every organization. For me, when I am dialed calling games and managing pitching, I don’t really think about hitting and that is when I rake. When I start to not rake is when I start to think about hitting and I go behind the plate thinking about my at-bats. If I can just stay locked in to my receiving, my catching, my defense and not really worry about my hitting that is usually when I am pretty good so it’s a good balance.”
Flores also reflected on his debut, which came with some added meaning.
“I grew up a Cubs fan, so debuting against the Cubs was special,” he said. “Being in Pittsburgh with the fans and getting that first hit with my family there was an unreal moment.”
Looking ahead, Flores knows what the work looks like.
“This year I mean it’s all just hard work. I’ve been down in Pirate City already. I’ve been catching guys, and I’ve been working hard. It’s just going to be a matter of performing during the Spring and continuing on throughout the season.”
Isaac Mattson: Preparation and a “Nasty” Staff
Isaac Mattson’s offseason has been equal parts baseball and family.
“It’s been good. It’s been fun being able to be at home and be a dad full-time. Being able to see the milestones that our son takes, crawling, walking, walking with a little more confidence now. It’s been fun this offseason. Then the training, just being able to dive into how 2025 went, grow from that, and be able to take that into 2026.”
That life change might even be paying off on the mound. When asked about whether or not “Dad Strength” was a real thing, Mattson joked but was clearly a believer.
“I think so. I think it was in a Spring Training game in New York, popped to 97, and I don’t do that often. That was like right after Teddy was born, so I think there’s a little piece of it. Deadlift numbers have gone up a little bit as well, so yeah definitely something to be said about it.”
Mattson also takes a detailed approach to self-evaluation.
“I’m a numbers guy. I love diving into them, sometimes a little bit too much. Pretty much at the end of the season I will kind of look personally, like, ‘Hey, how did 2025 go? Or 2024? What did I do well when I was at my best? What were the outings that I struggled?’ So, being able to kind of look back, reflect on those, not dwell on them too much, but what can I grow from? That’s been the kind of work this offseason.”
Bullpen chemistry is something he believes can make a real difference when it comes to this team.
“Chemistry goes a long way. I think we saw it with Toronto. Being able to have a group of guys where everybody knows we are all in the same boat, trying to do the same thing and doing it to the best of our abilities, I think chemistry is a big piece of it. Then just going out and executing when you know the guy to your left and the guy to your right has your back, it allows you to just go out and play free.”
He mentions that preparing for big moments starts mentally, much prior to the actual moment itself.
“A lot of it is mental. Fortunately, I have had really good coaches that have helped me be able to kind of visualize that. Sometimes I will tell myself a situation that happened in 2025 and be like, ‘Alright, like for this specific throw or this specific pitch, this is where I want to be mentally.’ That has kind of helped me mimic that, so just being able to put yourself in that position so that when you go and experience it in 2026, you’ve already done the reps in that specific environment.”
When asked about the pitching staff, Mattson did not hesitate.
“We are going to be nasty. It’s going to be fun to watch. I think 2025 was kind of like an eye-opener for the league of just how nasty we can be, and I think we’ve taken a step forward even more so than we did in 2025. For me, being able to watch the game in the bullpen for eight out of the nine innings usually, it’s just fun to watch guys be nasty. I’m glad we have those guys on our team and I am excited for 2026.”
To wrap it up, Mattson touched on the depth in high leverage situations being a major strength on this team.
“I think the more guys that you can have that have confidence when the moments seemingly get bigger, they have that experience from being able to talk to each other what that feels like. I talked to Santana about how he processes things when it gets to high leverage. Having those conversations, but also knowing every day you’re going to have guys that can go in and shut things down. I think that’s a big piece of it. You still need the guys that can go out and execute for multiple innings, but when you get down to it, can you keep a lead? Can you keep the game where it’s at? I think being able to have a group of guys like that is going to be a lot of fun.”
If one word summed up the feel around this Pirates pitching staff, it was hard to ignore.
Nasty.
Stay tuned as we wrap up PiratesFest 2026 with our final round of player interviews, featuring even more insight, personality, and behind-the-scenes moments from around the organization!
