In the first of (hopefully) several additions to their starting rotation, the Pittsburgh Pirates have added left handed pitcher Marco Gonzales from the Atlanta Braves.

Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Braves are also sending cash Pittsburgh’s way to help pay for his $12 million salary. Atlanta acquired Gonzales in a trade on Sunday, but the Braves had no real need for the 31 year old, so they flipped him to Pittsburgh. In exchange, the Pirates are sending the legendary “player to be named later”, or cash considerations.

Gonzales had the worst year, statistically, of his career last season. With the Seattle Mariners, he recorded a 5.22 ERA in 10 starts. Injuries marred his 2023 campaign, with a flexor strain and nerve issues in his elbow and forearm shutting him down entirely in August.

His last start of the season came against the Pirates on May 28th, where he pitched 5.2 innings and allowing just 1 run. He walked 3 and struck out 4 in that game.

Career wise, he is a 4.22 ERA pitcher, averaging 6.1 strikeouts per nine innings to 3.2 walks per nine innings over his near decade-long career.

Two years ago, a fully healthy season for Gonzales, he recorded a 4.13 ERA and a 10-15 record. He led the American League in credited losses, with 15, but he was also credited with 10 wins on the year.

His best season came in 2020, when he recorded a 7-2 record with a 3.10 ERA, and led the AL in walks per nine innings (0.9) and led all of Major League Baseball in strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.14).

I love this move for the Pirates.

Gonzales is the definition of a low-risk, high-reward player. The cost for the Pirates to acquire him was not very high, so even if he semi works out for Pittsburgh, it’s likely a win for them.

With the money they are getting from Atlanta, it cheapens the cost even more for the Pirates. Gonzales is signed through the 2024 season, with a team option for 2025.

He’s a lefty, which is a unique little twist for a Pirates pitching staff that only had two lefties on the mound (among 11 pitchers who started 5+ games for the team). Gonzales will be looking to bounce back from a bad year last year, and he will definitely have that chance in a bleak Pirates rotation.

As of now, it’s him and Mitch Keller as the only two surefire starters in the rotation.

Ideally, Gonzales is a 4th or 5th guy in the Pirates rotation, and there is still plenty of offseason to fill in some of the other gaps on the mound.

Plus, he has plenty of experience, and that counts for something. The Colorado native made his MLB debut in 2014, and has 163 games (155 starts) over his nine year major league career.

He’s a veteran guy and can usually be counted on for a lot of innings. Excluding the shortened 2020 season and last season with injury, Gonzales has started 25 or more games in every season since the 2018 season.

For the Pirates, it won’t be the biggest deal of the MLB offseason. And hopefully it won’t be the biggest deal/signing even for Pittsburgh. But you could do a lot worse in a trade.

Here’s to hoping Gonzales can bounce back in Pittsburgh. For his benefit, and the Pirates’.

(Featured photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)