The Pittsburgh Pirates have done well in acquiring pitchers in past seasons and building them back up, most notably Tyler Anderson and Jose Quintana, who have since signed good deals with the Angels and Mets.
Pittsburgh once again opted to acquire a soft-tossing lefty this off-season, trading for Marco Gonzales from the Braves shortly after he was traded from Seattle, bringing in a much needed arm for the rotation.
Questions arose about Gonzales as soon as the news broke that the trade was official, with most centered around his season-ending surgery last season.
Gonzales last pitched vs Pittsburgh May 28 of last season, having to decompress the anterior interosseous nerve, a nerve responsible for control of motor functions for pronating a player’s wrist and index finger.
Now, nerve damage is no joke, it has ended careers for countless MLB players, most recently Stephen Strasberg, who dealt with nerve damage in his right arm that prohibited him from pitching a full season since Washington’s World Series run in 2019, pitching only eight starts since then with zero in 2023.
Don’t forget a Pittsburgh Pirate dealt with nerve issues last season, that was Jarlin Garcia, who was signed in 2022 and never pitched an inning in black and gold.
So yea, its a worrisome issue, an issue I am sure the medical staff will closely monitor with every pitch for Gonzales, but if Gonzales stays healthy, the Pirates may have found a gem from the trade market.
Before last season, Gonzales pitched at least 25 starts (excluding 2020) between 2018 and 2022, having 13 or more quality starts in each of those four seasons. His least amount of innings in a campaign through those four full seasons was 143.1 IP in 2021, a season in which many pitchers were still recovering from the shortened 2020 season.
Although wins aren’t as important a stat as they used to be for pitchers, Gonzales also posted 10 or more wins in those four seasons as well, becoming one of MLB’s more efficient and consistent pitchers.
His career ERA sits at 4.14, which currently sits in between Tyler Anderson’s 4.35 career ERA and Jose Quintana’s career 3.74 ERA, offers some optimism that Gonzales could be the next Pirates reclamation project. His advanced metrics from 2022 also offer some hope he can return to that form despite the injury worries.
In 32 starts, Gonzales posted a 4.13 ERA while ranking in the 80th percentile or higher in average exit velocity and chase rate, while also ranking in the 72nd percentile in walk rate and hard hit rate.
His run values leave a ton to be desired, but Gonzales isn’t a fireball thrower, he’s a soft tosser who forced ground balls about 43-percent of the time in 2022 and rarely allows opposing hitters to get impressive launch angles historically, allowing an average launch angle of 12.2 over his career.
Everything with Gonzales is also vertical, with his only pitch in his mix that moves horizontally being a cutter. His other three pitchers are a fastball that sits on average at about 89 mph and a changeup and curveball combo that accounts for about 44-percent of his pitch percentage.
The cutter is even more impressive when you consider he saw 25.2 inches of drop with the pitch in 2022, making his arsenal a potentially lethal one if the fastball, cutter and his vertical off-speed pitches can work in tandem well.
So with all of that considered, Gonzales has the opportunity to be the Pirates next reclamation project, and with the state of the rotation including Mitch Keller, Martin Perez and Gonzales as definite mainstays, Gonzales will be offered every opportunity to return to his 2022 and prior form.
The resume speaks for itself for Gonzales, he has the capability to be a strong option for this rotation, but the injury concern is the biggest, and likeliest, concern that could hinder him from being just that.
If he stays healthy folks, you’re going to love what he brings to the table and the team will feel the effects of having him because the rotation will improve along with it. 2024 is a chance for Gonzales to take a step towards his old form and for the Pirates to once again turn around a soft-tossing left-handed pitcher’s career.
Steel City Pirates 