Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Moves to minor-league camp
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Gonzales was reassigned to minor-league camp Sunday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.
Gonzales is one of the Pirates' top prospects and had a strong showing in big-league camp with a 1.004 OPS in 16 contests. He spent most of 2022 at Double-A Altoona and had a .263/.383/.429 slash line, so he should move up to Triple-A Indianapolis this year.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Reinstated from injured list
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Gonzales (heel) was reinstated from the 60-day injured list Friday at Double-A Altoona, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Gonzales had been on the injured list with plantar fasciitis since the end of May, going 3-for-10 with a triple, a double, four RBI, a run and a steal over three games on a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League prior to being activated. The 2020 first-round pick has a disappointing .742 OPS through 43 games with Altoona this season.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Starts rehab assignment
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Gonzalez (heel) reported to the FCL Pirates to begin a rehab assignment Friday, John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com reports.
Gonzalez has been sidelined by plantar fasciitis since the end of May but has been cleared for game action in the Florida Complex League. The 23-year-old has a .742 OPS in 43 games for Double-A Altoona this year and will likely require a handful of rehab games before being reinstated to the active roster.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Game action imminent
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Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Thursday that Gonzales (heel) is expected to return to "game-like action" in the next week or so, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The Pirates will likely start Gonzales out with playing in simulated games at extended spring training in Florida before having him participate in rehab games at one of their lower-level affiliates. The 23-year-old second baseman has been sidelined for nearly two months with plantar fasciitis in his right heel.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Out of walking boot
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Gonzales (heel) has shed his walking boot, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Gonzales progressed well since landing in a walking boot in late June and will now be able to ramp up his recovery process. The 23-year-old is slated to head to the Pirates' extended spring training facility in Florida soon to continue rehabbing.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Close to shedding boot
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Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Gonzales (heel) will shed his walking boot in 5-to-7 days, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Gonzales has been in a walking boot since late June, but he's been able to swing and play catch while in the boot recently. The 23-year-old will presumably be able to ramp up his activity level once he sheds his boot, but it's not yet clear when he'll be able to return to game action.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Resumes baseball activities
Rotowire
Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Gonzales (heel) has been participating in baseball activities while in a walking boot, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
Gonzales isn't expected to shed his boot for another 7-to-10 days, but it's encouraging that he's been able to swing and play catch while in the boot. It seems likely that the 23-year-old will still be sidelined several more weeks, but he's made encouraging progress so far.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Managing right plantar fasciitis
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Gonzales is dealing with right plantar fasciitis and will be required to spend 2-4 weeks in a walking boot, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
Gonzales was transferred to the 60-day injured list Tuesday and will be shut down for several weeks after visiting with a foot and ankle specialist. While the right-hander was initially believed to be dealing with heel soreness, he'll likely be kept out of game action until at least late July or early August following his new diagnosis.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Shifts to 60-day IL
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Double-A Altoona transferred Gonzales (heel) from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day iL on Tuesday, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
When he was first placed on the IL on June 1, Gonzales was considered day-to-day with heel soreness, but the injury was evidently more serious than the Pirates initially believed. The 2020 first-round pick now looks like he'll be sidelined through the end of July, which is another blow to what had already been a somewhat down season for the 23-year-old. Prior to getting hurt, Gonzales was producing slightly better than the league-average player (113 wRC+, .341 wOBA) and had struck out in 32.8 percent of his plate appearances.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Moves to 7-day IL
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Double-A Altoona placed Gonzales (heel) on its 7-day injured list Thursday, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The Pirates initially believed Gonzales was dealing with a minor contusion on his heel, but the issue has since proven to be a little more serious than the organization anticipated. That being said, a long-term absence doesn't seem to be in the forecast for Gonzales, who is also expected to change his cleats with the hope of mitigating any potential heel problems moving forward. Gonzales is hitting .247 with four home runs and four stolen bases across 186 plate appearances at Altoona this season.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Shows signs of life in Double-A
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Gonzales went 3-for-4 with a homer and two doubles for Double-A Altoona on Tuesday, followed by two more hits Wednesday, but he's still hitting just .243/.363/.378 on the season.
It's been an awfully tough campaign to this point, but Gonzales seems to be getting right at the dish, as he now has a six-game hitting streak going. As of May 10, he was hitting .180/.324/.292, so he's certainly made significant strides recently. With a sky-high 34.1 percent strikeout rate, it's very clear what Gonzales needs to work on right now -- and he has made some progress on that front over the course of this streak. He'll likely need to do a lot more, though, before the Pirates see fit to promote him to Triple-A.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Looks good in spring action
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Gonzales went 5-for-11 with a pair of doubles, a steal and a 1:2 BB:K during the Pirates' spring-training slate.
Fresh off dominating performances in High-A (.303/.385/.565) and the Arizona Fall League (.380/.483/.549), Gonzales just keeps hitting everywhere he goes. His next test will come in Double-A, where he'll open the 2022 campaign, and if his spring performance is any indicator, he won't be intimidated by the increased level of competition. If the Pirates were more competitive, Gonzales would have a shot at coming up this year -- and if Diego Castillo doesn't work out, he still might -- but it's more likely that he'll be in position to push for an Opening Day roster spot next season.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Massive day at High-A
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Gonzales went 4-for-7 with three home runs, eight RBI and an additional run Sunday for High-A Greensboro in its 19-11 win over Asheville.
Gonzales got off to a slow start to his professional career, but the 22-year-old has looked the part of a top-10 draft pick over the past month and a half. Dating back to July 16, Gonzales is slashing .361/.424/.639 with 23 extra-base hits and a 23.3 percent strikeout rate in 36 games.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Big night at plate
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Gonzales went 2-for-4 with a double and his seventh homer Wednesday for High-A Greensboro.
After enduring a 5-for-57 stretch, Gonzales has collected 24 hits in his last 65 at-bats. The second baseman has some pronounced splits thus far: he's slashing .300/.364/.620 with seven homers at home and .232/.315/.280 with no home runs on the road. After compiling an 89:79 BB:K in college, Gonzales has put up a 17:61 BB:K, something to watch as he moves through the professional ranks. Still, if he continues to hit at Greensboro then it wouldn't be surprising to see the 22-year-old promoted to Double-A prior to season's end.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Steps in against live pitching
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Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczak said Wednesday that Gonzales (finger) has resumed hitting against live pitching at Pittsburgh's spring training site in Bradenton, Fla., Gerard Gilberto of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
Gonzales will likely advance to playing in simulated games in the coming days, and if all goes well, he should be cleared to rejoin High-A Greensboro at some point next week. The 2020 first-round draft pick has been out for over a month with a fractured right pinkie finger.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Progressing toward full activity
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Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Gonzales (finger) could be cleared to resume full baseball activities by the end of June, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Gonzales, the No. 7 overall pick in last summer's first-year player draft, appeared in 13 games for High-A Greensboro before being shut down May 19 after fracturing his right pinkie finger. The 22-year-old is seemingly making good progress in his recovery, and assuming he experiences no setbacks once incorporating batting practice and fielding drills into his rehab program, he could be ready to rejoin the Greensboro lineup in early July.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Suffers broken pinky
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Gonzales suffered a fractured pinky finger during a collision at first base, which is why he was placed on the 7-day injured list at High-A Greensboro on Friday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. He is expected to return to baseball activities in 4-to-6 weeks.
As far as injuries go, this one should be pretty minor, particularly regarding Gonzales' long-term development. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2020 draft was hitting .294/.368/.549 with two home runs, two steals and a 16:5 K:BB in 57 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Invited to big-league camp
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Gonzales will join the Pirates' major-league camp this spring.
Gonzales is highly unlikely to be given the chance to actually compete for a roster spot, as the canceled minor-league season robbed last year's seventh overall pick from making his professional debut. He'll get the opportunity to work with the Pirates' big-league coaching staff this spring in hopes of joining that group on a permanent basis sometime in the next few years.
