‘It’s Been a Long Time Coming,’ Nick Gonzales Returns to Pirates Hoping to Provide Spark

PITTSBURGH — Nick Gonzales returned to the field for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 3-0 loss to the Houston Astros Tuesday night. It was his first game since exiting early on Opening Day against the Marlins in Miami. 

Gonzales hobbled around the bases at loanDepot Park after a home run in his third at-bat of the season on March 27. The 26-year-old was replaced in the field in the season opener and was placed on the injured list the following day with a non-displaced ankle fracture. 

After missing over two months of the season to heal, Gonzales, who went 1 for 3 with an infield single and manned second base on Tuesday, is thrilled to be back active for the Pirates.

“It’s tough to go down in the first game, but happy to be back, happy to be back with the team and just find a way to help them as best I can,” he said outside his locker prior to Tuesday’s game against the Astros. “It’s tough being on the sideline to help out, so it’s good to be here.”

Gonzales’ return to Pittsburgh was delayed a bit longer after he was hit by a pitch in his hand during an at-bat with Triple-A Indianapolis, which paused his rehab assignment until the swelling went down.

Thankfully, there was no major injury.

“As a player when you’ve been hit enough, you know when something’s wrong or something’s just hurt. I think I was kind of in that position where nothing was broken, but it was really swollen,” he said of the brief setback. “It was kind of just battling through that.”

In nine games with Indianapolis on his rehab assignment, Gonzales hit just .194 with a .461 OPS. Despite the lowly numbers, he feels like he started to find his groove of late.

“Getting hit kind of stopped me for a week or so from being able to grip the bat, so it kind of was tough,” he said. “But I still needed to get in there and see some pitchers and see some pitches in live at-bats. I felt like last week was better.”

The Pirates are surely glad to get Gonzales back in the lineup. Pittsburgh ranks near the bottom in most major offensive categories. As a team, they’ve combined for a .226/.304/.337 batting line with 43 homers and 194 runs scored in 61 games. 

Last season, the Pirates’ 2020 first-round draft pick hit .270 with a .709 OPS, 19 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 49 RBI in 94 games.

The Pirates were hoping Gonzales would take another step forward offensively in 2025. After two-plus months, he’ll get a shot to try and make that happen. 

“It’s great and everything Nick means to us, having his bat back in the lineup,” said manager Don Kelly. “(He’s a) spark plug for us.”

Gonzales’ focus is helping the team win more games, and his bat will have to play a part in that. 

Though the Pirates were shut out for the 10th time this season in their loss to the Astros, the lineup is getting closer to what it was expected to look like at the start of the season.

Spencer Horwitz finally joined the Pirates last month after missing the start of the season due to wrist surgery. Gonzales adds further length to a lineup in need of some.

“It felt great to be back. Like I was saying earlier, just trying to help the team win.” said Gonzales. ‘To be out here on the field, and then running on the field…It’s been a long time coming.”