Gonzales feeling healthy and ready for fresh start with Pirates

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Over the last nine months, Marco Gonzales dealt with some of the toughest things one could experience as a professional athlete: A significant injury, season-ending surgery and not one, but two offseason trades. 

And during that lengthy period of time, he didn't throw a single pitch in a meaningful game. Another tough pill to swallow for an athlete with the competitive spirit Gonzales possesses.

“I’m one of those guys who can’t sit still if I’m not competing in something," Gonzales said. "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."

It all started with the injury. 

While with Seattle last season, the 32-year-old left-hander was limited to just 10 starts after leaving a May 28 outing against the Pirates and eventually being placed on the 15-day injured list with a strain in his pitching forearm. Months of uncertainty followed before he underwent season-ending surgery to address a nerve issue in his forearm. 

Then came the change in scenery. 

Gonzales was dealt twice within a span of three days in December. He was sent to Atlanta alongside Jarred Kelenic and Evan White in exchange for Cole Phillips and Jackson Kowar. The latter deal, which occurred less than 48 hours later during the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn., sent Gonzales and cash considerations to Pittsburgh for a player to be named later. 

Now, Gonzales is in a spot where he’s expected to serve in the Pirates' starting rotation alongside other clear-cut starters in Mitch Keller and Martin Perez, another offseason acquisition who signed a one-year, $8 million deal in mid-December.

“I’m blessed, and I don’t take any big-league opportunity for granted,” Gonzales said at Pirate City in Bradenton Sunday. “I’m just gonna do what I can to stay healthy and compete.” 

Gonzales is feeling healthy after surgery and offseason work that followed an injury-shortened campaign that resulted in him going 4-1 with a 5.22 ERA, a 1.46 WHIP and a 4.28 FIP. He struck out 34 batters and walked 18 in 50 innings of work. 

“I’ve just been trying to stay diligent on the work and have been trying to keep it strong,” Gonzales said. “After I got this thing cleaned out, it’s been great.” 

Over the offseason, Gonzales was notably active at Driveline Baseball, a well-known facility based in Kent, Wash. He said his experience at Driveline allowed him to develop a good workout plan while learning more about routine, and gaining guidance on things mechanically and with pitch refinement and pitch shaping. 

“It was really just tools for the shed,” Gonzales added. “Ultimately, the intention is to go there and be healthy and be strong. The results will be what they are, but the work’s been done. We’ll see how it goes.” 

Gonzales is a veteran entering his 10th season in the big leagues. He’s pitched in 163 career games, posting a 65-49 record with a 4.14 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP and a 4.40 FIP with 665 strikeouts and 238 walks in 893 innings.

But that doesn’t mean he’s afraid to seek guidance on what could make him a better pitcher. 

“That’s part of being at the highest level, you’re constantly learning and growing. I’m not above that. I know there are things I don’t know about pitching and about baseball, so that was the goal,” Gonzales said. “Along with the help of my dad, who is a 30-year veteran with professional experience, I think it was a good offseason as far as developing as a pitcher and trying to take another step.” 

There were plenty of videos of Gonzales posted on Driveline’s social media to promote the work he’s done throughout the offseason. One recent post showed him with an average fastball velocity of 89.4 mph. It’s the hardest he’s thrown since 2018 when he averaged around 90.1 mph. 

Gonzales hopes to see that translate to the season when things get started in Miami at the end of March. 

“I’m not taking any victories in terms of velocity until we get into the season and get through a full healthy season with velocity. That’s the goal,” Gonzales said. “Picking up some velocity with plyo work and all that stuff, that’s part of the routine stuff I was working on to try to get my body moving quicker. Throwing a baseball over the plate with velocity, that’s going to be the win, for sure.” 

Gonzales has a five-pitch mix that features a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, changeup, curveball and cutter. Last season, he used his four-seamer 36.9% of the time and hitters batted .333 against it. His changeup produced the best results, as it was used just over 30% of the time and produced an opposing batting average of .222. 

During his offseason preparation, Gonzales placed an emphasis on tinkering with his cutter, a pitch he used less than 9% of the time last season. He used it more frequently over larger sample sizes in previous years, and in the COVID-shortened 2020 season when he showcased it 24.2% of the time and limited hitters to a minuscule .188 average. 

“I just wanted to get more horizontal movement. It was kinda backing up on me a little bit, not doing exactly what I wanted it to do,” Gonzales said, referring to last season. “I was able to locate it, but it wasn’t the efficient pitch that I know I have in the bag. It’s been there before, so I was just trying to go and make sure that pitch was moving the way I wanted it to this offseason.” 

After a tough 2023 campaign, Gonzales is aiming to get back to where he was from 2018 to 2022. During that five-year period with the Mariners, he went 56-45 with a 3.94 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP and a 4.35 FIP in 131 starts. He had a 6.7 K/9 and a 2.2 BB/9 rate.

A few days into his time at Pirate City, Derek Shelton likes what he sees in Gonzales and the experience he’ll provide to the stable of starters. 

“I think what he brings is a sense of veteran stability,” Shelton said. “What I like about him is the way he engages with people, his conversations right off the bat. That's really important. He and Martin Perez have done that from the jump, which is important because we have a bunch of young pitchers and we have a bunch of young starters.” 

Being surrounded by young pitchers isn’t something Gonzales is unfamiliar with. He experienced that in Seattle and is once again surrounded by a plethora of up-and-coming arms in Pittsburgh. 

“I was thrown into somewhat of a (leadership) role like that pretty early in Seattle because we were so young. I’ve really enjoyed being able to be looked at as a guy like that, and I’ll just continue to try to set a good example here,” Gonzales said. “I want to continue to do the right thing at the right time. It’s simple; be accountable, compete and set an example.” 

Shelton believes Gonzales' leadership will be valuable in him being able to model what pitchers should do off the field in order to succeed on it. 

“You watch how guys work. You watch what they do. If you’re here early, you see that Marco’s here early, that Martin’s here early, that Chappy’s here early. Not that being early is important; it’s just the routine of their work and how they go about it," Shelton said. "It’s something that young players see. It’s almost by osmosis they look up and see that this is how you’re supposed to do it. This is why a guy has played seven years in the big leagues, why he’s played eight years, why he’s made an All-Star team. That’s really important for our younger players. And we have it with Cutch. For our younger players, there’s no better example being around than Andrew McCutchen. We’re starting to add to that group. We’re really unique in that we have guys with a lot of service time and with a little service time. I think it’s important just modeling-wise.”

With all that he’s experienced over the last year, Gonzales admits he’s been itching to get going since he last pitched in a meaningful game against his current team last May. He’s motivated to prove he’s healthy and can serve as a productive arm when called upon. 

“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," Gonzales said. "I’m ready to go out and show what I can do.”