Former Seattle Mariners' Ace Healthy and Ready For New Opportunity with Pittsburgh Pirates

After being traded twice this offseason, former Seattle Mariners' ace Marco Gonzales says he is healthy and ready to contribute with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Speaking with MLB.com, Gonzales had this to say:

“I’ve been itching, man,” Gonzales said. “I’m one of those guys who can’t sit still if I’m not competing in something. It’s just in my blood. It's my passion and I’m obsessed with it. So that down time of not having a batter in the box or not being in a game was tough in that aspect. I wanted to get that chance to be healthy with Seattle to show I could pitch again, and not getting that chance and being shipped out has lit a fire. I’m ready to go out and show what I can do.”

Gonzales was traded from Seattle to the Atlanta Braves in the deal that sent Jarred Kelenic to Atlanta and then was sent to Pittsburgh where he'll slot in with Mitch Keller and Martin Perez in the starting rotation. 

Gonzales was acquired by the Mariners in 2017 and was meant to be a building block for the next wave of M's contending teams. He was just that, winning 13 games in 2018 when the M's last went for it with the Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager, Felix Hernandez and Robinson Cano group.

Then, when the team started its rebuild, Gonzales was there, serving as the ace in both 2019 and 2020. He won 16 games for the M's in 2019, despite the team only winning 68 games. He then went 7-2 during the COVID 2020 shortened season before winning 10 more games in 2021 as the M's pushed back towards contention.

Unfortunately, he regressed in each of the last two seasons, going 10-15 with a 4.13 ERA in 2022 and pitching to a 5.22 ERA in 10 games in 2023 before shutting it down with an elbow injury. He insists he's healthy now and trained at Driveline this offseason in an effort to re-find his form.

With the Pirates, not only will he get an opportunity to pitch every fifth day, he'll get an opportunity to be a veteran leader for a young team. Known as a great clubhouse presence, perhaps he can help build a new culture for the Buccos.