The Pittsburgh Pirates are a pretty frustrating team. The Pirates had the incredible luck of drafting Paul Skenes, a generational ace, who fell right into their lap. Skenes has since taken charge of a starting pitching staff that has several other great names on it. 

But the biggest thing holding them back on the field is their offense, or near complete lack thereof. Last year, the Pirates scored 4.10 runs per game, good for 24th in Major League Baseball. 

The Pirates team .234 batting average ranked 23rd, team .371 slugging ranked 27th and they were also bottom 10 in total home runs and runs batted in. They excelled at two things — striking out and leaving men on base, where they were a top-10 team in baseball. 

After Skenes was crowned NL Rookie of the Year, the focus for the Pirates was clear. They needed offense to help supplement their superb pitching staff, but general manager Ben Cherington and the Pirates front office did little to address that this offseason. 

To date, their biggest move to help bolster production was acquiring Spencer Horwitz. The first baseman was an above-average bat for Toronto last season, but is still relatively inexperienced at the major league level and far from a superstar addition to the Pirates. 

Aside from first base, the Pirates made no substantial changes to their infield. As it stands today, Ke’Bryan Hayes is penciled in at third base, provided he is healthy; Isiah Kiner-Falefa is at shortstop and Nick Gonzales is at second base. 

Both Hayes and Kiner-Falefa are coming off of down years, and questions linger on whether they can return to form. And in true Pirates fashion, Horwitz, the only interesting offensive addition the Pirates made, is expected to miss all of spring training and very likely the start of the season after undergoing wrist surgery to address “chronic symptoms.”

But while there is a lack of enthusiasm for the batting prowess — and health — in this infield group, one player fans should not sleep on in 2025 is Gonzales. 

A former seventh overall pick by the Pirates in 2020, Gonzales made his major league debut two years ago, getting into 35 games with Pittsburgh. The Pirates called him up in hopes that he could help spark some offense for the club in 2023. 

Though Gonzales started incredibly hot, notching 14 hits in 50 at-bats over his first 15 games, he completely cratered starting in mid-July and was optioned back to the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis in August. He finished his major league season in 2023 with an underwhelming .209/.268/.348 slash line. 

Last season, Gonzales was in a spring training battle for the second baseman job, a competition he ultimately lost to utility man Jared Triolo. The Pirates sent him to Triple-A to start the year, where he tore up the entire International League during the opening month and a half, slashing .356/.429/.600. 

In mid-May, the Pirates recalled Gonzales, moved Triolo back to his utility role and stapled Gonzales to second base. Unlike his first go around, Gonzales stuck at the major league level and served as one of the team’s best batters for the rest of the season. 

While the team overall was still near the bottom of many categories, it was no fault of Gonzales, who experienced a breakout year, slashing .270/.311/.398 with seven home runs, 49 RBIs and 22 total extra-base hits for the Pirates. 

Though at 94 games played, he did not qualify in MLB’s leaders, his .270 batting average would have placed him in the league’s top 50 hitters — 41st, to be exact — making him the second Pirate in that list, behind Bryan Reynolds. 

His impressive start to the 2024 campaign was hard to trust, given that he had a similarly strong start in his debut year before his subsequent crash and demotion. But Gonzales was making improvements across the board, including in underlying numbers. 

His average exit velocity increased from 84.8 in 2023 to 87.7 last year, and his hard-hit rate shot up from 26.8% to 37.2%. Gonzales significantly cut down his strikeout rate, dropping from 28.1% two years ago to under 20% last season. 

July was Gonzales’ only true “cold” month, during which he hit .214 and had an OPS of .533. His batting average didn’t fall below .253 and his OPS didn’t fall below .638 in any other month of the season. Though these aren’t world-beating numbers, he was more consistent and productive than many of his Pirates counterparts. 

He made strides on defense at second base as well, upping his fielding percentage and putting positive marks at both defensive runs saved and outs above average. 

Gonzales is an X-factor for the Pirates in determining whether or not they can improve upon the 76-86 record they have finished for the last two years. Part of that is because of his abilities, and part of that is because there isn’t really anyone else to count on. 

Maybe Cherington’s move for Horwitz will pan out nicer than Rowdy Tellez. But even if he hits well, Cherington did little else to help the offense in Pittsburgh really take off — especially from the infielders. 

Whether it’s a feasible strategy or not, Cherington’s offseason work means the Pirates must rely on their internal prospects and younger players — like Gonzales, who will turn 26 in May — to take another step forward. If the Pirates can see any sizable improvement in team offense, Gonzales will have to catalyze it. 

Unlike last spring training, Gonzales has momentum heading into this year, coming off his first true season in the big leagues. He’s not going to break any kind of home run record, but he can provide a consistent above-average bat that will go a long way in helping the Pirates attempt to contend in 2025.