Pirates' Nick Gonzales Reveals Goal for Next Season
Pittsburgh Pirates' second baseman Nick Gonzales took strides to improve as a hitter in 2024.
Now, his focus for 2025 is improving in the other areas of his game. Gonzales touted the adjustments he made as a hitter from his first taste of the big leagues in 2023, which led to a much better 2024 season. With seeing the merit of his hard work paying off at the plate, he's hoping to get similar results defensively and on the bases next season.
"I want to just continue to improve my defense," Gonzales said in an interview on SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio. "That's something I feel like I've done better every year. [I] want to steal some more bases and be more of a threat on the base paths. Stealing second and third, I think I'm a guy who can get 20 bags in the season and that's something that I'm going to strive for this year. It's going to be a big goal this offseason is work on that stuff so next year I can hit the ground running."
Of the 95 games Gonzales appeared in defensively, he played 85 games at second base and tallied five errors. He had -4 defensive runs saved by FanGraphs' metrics. He also played eight games at shortstop and made two errors.
Gonzales only had five stolen bases in 2024 and hasn't been the biggest threat on the base paths throughout his pro career. The 2020 seventh overall pick only has 17 stolen bases in the minor leagues and hasn't had more than seven steals in a season.
The Pirates were tied for 16th in stolen bases with 106 last season. Oneil Cruz led Pittsburgh with 22 stolen bases in 2024. No other returning player had more than 11 for the Pirates.
Gonzales being more productive on the bases would go hand-in-hand with him continuing his ascension at the plate. He batted .270/.311/.398 with seven home runs and 49 RBIs across 94 games.
For a Pirates offense that ranked in the bottom 10 in nearly every major stat in 2024, stealing more bases is another way to get a team better chances to score. Gonzales causing more havoc on the bases could go a long way toward helping Pittsburgh score more runs next season.
