Pirates, Nick Gonzales Ready To Take 'Big Step Forward'
The Pittsburgh Pirates flashed promise at different points in 2024, but wasn't able to put it all together en route to going 76-86 for a second-straight season.
Among the players who showed signs they could have a role in helping the Pirates snap their nine-year playoff drought is second baseman Nick Gonzales. With his vast improvement from his first stint in the big leagues in 2023 and other young talent set to play a big role, Gonzales believes Pittsburgh can improve in 2025.
"We're taking a big step forward, and I think we have a lot of young talent that kind of growing," Gonzales said in an interview on SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio. "And obviously, we have some that are already pretty well established as well. So I'm excited for this year."
After appearing in just 35 games in 2023 and posting a -0.2 WAR, Gonzales made significant strides at the plate, improving in every major stat last season after being called up by Pittsburgh from Triple-A Indianapolis on May 9. The 2020 first-round pick out of New Mexico State batted .270/.311/.398 with seven home runs and 49 RBIs across 94 games. He also amassed a 0.9 bWAR.
While Gonzales' first big league stint didn't go according to plan, he credited his struggles to show him what he needed to improve and the adjustments he had to make heading into the 2024 season.
"Last year for me was good," Gonzales said. "I got my feet wet a little bit in 2023 but some adjustments definitely needed to be made. They were very apparent to me [and] to everybody. So [I] made those adjustments last offseason, and tried to implement it as best I could during the season and was able to have some success."
