The Pirates announced that second baseman Nick Gonzales is headed to the 10-day injured list after suffering a non-displaced fracture in his left ankle. Fellow infielder Enmanuel Valdez was recalled to take the active roster spot.
Gonzales made his first career Opening Day start at the keystone yesterday. He went 1-3, striking out twice before drilling a two-run home run to left field. That set up a bizarre home run trot, as an obviously hobbled Gonzales limped his way around the bases. The Pirates lifted him for defensive replacement Adam Frazier in the next half-inning. The team initially announced the injury as “recurrent left ankle discomfort,” so it seemingly predates that swing, but the pain clearly became too much to bear.
The seventh overall pick in 2020, Gonzales has appeared in parts of three MLB seasons. He hit .209 in 35 games two seasons ago. Gonzales turned in a nearly league average .270/.311/.398 slash with seven homers through 387 plate appearances last year. His power and walk rates were both middling, but he made enough contact to hit at a .270 clip. Among Pittsburgh hitters with 300+ plate appearances, only Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz and Andrew McCutchen were more productive offensive players by measure of wRC+.
An already light lineup takes a hit with Frazier now in line for the majority of the second base work. The veteran is coming off a .202/.282/.294 showing across 294 plate appearances with the Royals. Frazier was an All-Star during his first stint in Pittsburgh but has hit .236/.301/.336 since being traded to San Diego at the 2021 deadline. The Bucs brought him back on a $1.525MM free agent deal to work in a utility capacity. He’ll now be tasked with regular playing time while Gonzales is out. The Pirates haven’t announced a timetable, but even a non-displaced fracture is surely going to cost him more than the 10-day minimum.
Pittsburgh acquired Valdez from the Red Sox after Boston designated him for assignment in December. The career .235/.286/.400 hitter will work behind Frazier in a backup role and is in line for his team debut. They’re both left-handed hitters, so it’s unlikely to be a platoon. Frazier gets the nod tonight, hitting eighth against Miami righty Connor Gillispie.
Awesome.
Sorry for the fracture but I’m amazed that Pablo Reyes and Emmanuel Valdez are both in the big leagues again. I never expected to hear from either of them again and such is one of the best parts of baseball. You just never know. Congrats to both. Even if their MLB time is short, it still speaks about their work ethic.
Many thought that Valdez was the key guy coming back from Houston for Vasquez. Turns out Abreu is a stud and this guy is fringe. Crazy how that happens sometimes.
And yet everyone laughs at Bloom. He was far from perfect and should have invested better in pitching but most of his trades worked or at least he didn’t lose big (Mookie aside since he was forced on that deal and had to unload Price). Give him a chance in St. Louis and I for one expect him to deliver.
Not to mention his drafts. Look at the MLB and AAA rosters and it’s got his fingerprints all over it. At the end of the day, Cora won the power struggle.
I’m amazed that Adam Frazier is in the big leagues still. Valdez would be an upgrade.
Sucks, he had the makings of a break out this year. He’ll be back
Wow… he did this on a HR trot? I just watched the video… it doesn’t really look like anything. He just starts limping a few steps out of the box.
That stinks for Nick! Wishing him a quick recovery.
He did it in ST fouling 2 balls off his ankle but the Pirates medical staff is bottom 5 in the league.
@already
yikes
altho i think half the league has questionable medical staff/trainers
Game 1 of this season looked just like any game in 2024. Absolutely terrible lineup. Bullpen is a joke and now we the best we can do is roll out Frazier or Valdez to a lineup that already can’t hit?
GMBC should have been fired yesterday.
For as much as they want to tout their young pitching they couldn’t develop a competent hitting prospect if they were handed Bryce Harper in the draft.
I won’t ever give up on the Pirates but I’m not sure I’ll ever get excited about this team as long as current management is in place
Well said TJECK. Yesterday’s game felt like game #163 of 2024. Nothing changed. Terrible bullpen. Light weight hitting. Atrocious fielding miscues on the field. And inept upper management continues to steer the ship….into a path of destruction
Cherington is limited by ownership’s need for profits. He needs to make trades like York for Preister and keep his fingers and toes crossed.
I don’t totally disagree with this, but BC has been terrible using the money he has been given. Look at their FA signings. He can’t judge talent whether it’s amateur or major leagues.
I thought the lineup was good. Roster is terrible though.
Bring on Frazier, Bucs fans should be thrilled with the return of the Frazier he was great with the Bucs. I think he’s going to hit this April.
He was one of the worst hitters in baseball last year. It’s bad when your OBP and slugging percentage are both under .300. He’s about done at this point, fan favorite or no.
Yeah I’d agree, bad numbers, has to be a fan favorite though. Had an RBI in a Bucs victory today, but give the win to Keller, had a nice start. They could have a real nice rotation this season.
3 reasons I CAN’T get my hopes up:
1) Scratchy Beard is still the (faux) manager.
2) Fraudington is still the GM.
3) Nutting is still the owner.
Hit a home run, but still get hurt: summary of being a Pirates fan.
Thought the Pirates in turn would try to swing a deal for Eguy Rosario or another on the waiver wire.
Eguy is your guy
Bad luck for Gonzalez. After yesterday’s game, Shelton blew it. How long is this goof going to turn bednar out there. Since last year he’s been dismal. I’d fire Shelton after 20 games if he doesn’t improve his management skills. As for cherrington, I’m willing to give him leeway. After job nutting shackles him with money constraints. And it was reported that the pirates lost money last year, and other years. Bull. If he lost money he would of sold the pirates and he would of made a pretty buck.
Now the FAN 93.7 sports talk, is sports talk alright. The talking is done by bags of wind, who like to hear their stupidity on air. They hardly take calls. The morning team with blowhard Crawley, were bashing the team all morning. My God it’s one game and one loss. Then they said that skeenes had a so do game. Well idiots, it was the first game of the year. These bag of winds have no idea. And the prima Donna Rodgers talk is old. That’s all they talk about.
I’ve followed the pirates for 60 years. And yes the team, outside of the starters is dismal. But blame that on nutting and Shelton.
The Fan is trash. It’s hard to pick the worst host, but Crawley is definitely up there. Dickerson is meh, but other than that it’s garbage. Has been since Josh Miller left years back.
JM. Muller and filliponi are even worse than Crawley. These 2 bozos love to hear themselves talk. And filliponi is in love with himself. You are right, when miller left the FAN crashed. I can stomach Dickerson. But that neither Donnie Football and the rest of the just graduated “so called” sports talk graduates, should go back to school. Talk about cheap labor.
according to Forbes’ annual baseball financial reports, the Bucs earned a $9 million dollar profit in 2024. Perhaps Travis Williams was trying to claim they had an operating loss but in reality they didn’t earn enough in projected revenues to claim a profit
Bednar almost blew another game last night giving up 2 runs in the 9th inning. I agree that if Bednar can’t right his ship after 20 games, Shelton should be shown the plank to walk off
Frazier isn’t Gonzalez but he’s probably the best player available to fill in for Nick.
Endy really needs to learn the strike zone having been called out on strikes 4 times already in just 2 games. If this team has any chance of competing, his offense will be needed
Cutch hit his 419th career double in last night’s game
Endy has offense? He hasn’t done anything to prove he belongs in the majors. Great minor league season…in 2022!!! Endy should be in Indy.
I don’t disagree but he’s on the roster and plays first base at the moment and needs to contribute offensively
Why would you not play Bae at 2nd?!?
I agree Bae would be a better option.
But honestly he should be in CF. Let Cruz and his 6’6 height play 1B and worse case use Triolo at 2nd.
Because he sucks
The Pirates’ decision to replace Gonzales with Frazier, a weaker hitter (.202 vs. Gonzales’ .270), reveals a hidden flaw in their roster construction: they lack a versatile, high-contact backup infielder who can step into a starting role without a significant offensive drop-off. Most teams overlook this, assuming depth is just about bodies, not skill fit. Pittsburgh’s light lineup can’t absorb this downgrade—Frazier’s 57 wRC+ (43% below average) versus Gonzales’ 97 wRC+ (near average) means they’re losing ~2-3 runs per week at second base alone, a gap no one’s calculating publicly.
But hey, the fans love him even though he sucks.
I like Gonzalez but he isn’t exactly an offensive force so he should be easy to replace. That said, Frazier was a terrible sign and shouldn’t be in the bigs. Triolo is the obvious choice.
What about Yorke?
Yorke has options, and Frazier doesn’t
It’s all about money with this cheap organization
What did Frazier sign for 1.5 mil? Waste of money. I’d rather see yorke or even peguero.
While I agree Nutting is cheap this is a ridiculous take.
If it was about money why sign Frazier who makes a lot more than Yorke.