The Pittsburgh Pirates must put Nick Gonzales on the hot seat entering 2026

The Pittsburgh Pirates currently have Nick Gonzales lined up as their second baseman - that is, unless they make a real acquisition before the end of the offseason. Of course, Pirates fans shouldn’t hold their breath on that. If the Pirates head into spring training with Gonzales still atop the depth chart as their best second base option, they cannot guarantee him a spot. If anything, it should be his job to lose.

Gonzales got his first extended look in the major leagues in 2024, and he turned in a roughly league-average .270/.311/.398 triple-slash, .307 wOBA, and a 94 wRC+. The middle infielder only struck out 19.1% of the time, albeit with a 4.7% walk rate and .128 isolated slugging percentage. However, the underlying numbers certainly did not hate Gonzales’ performance. He had a .317 xwOBA and .405 xSLG%, both of which hovered around the 50th percentile, along with a .270 xBA, which was in the 84th percentile.

However, 2025 saw him take a massive step back. Gonzales turned in a .260/.299/.362 line over .408 plate appearances. While he maintained a walk rate around 5%, coming in at 5.1%, and lowered his K% to 17.1%, his isolated slugging percentage fell from .128 to .102. Overall, he had a .282 wOBA and 82 wRC+, and the expected numbers reflected a similar sentiment. Gonzales was only in the 12th percentile of xwOBA (.290) and the 19th percentile of xSLG% (.362). His xBA remained above average, but fell to .254, the 56th percentile.

Nick Gonzales cannot be the Pirates' go-to answer at second base in 2026.

Gonzales’ defense at the keystone isn’t outstanding either, and seems quite replaceable. Defensive metrics are very mixed on his glovework at the keystone. Defensive runs saved does not hold him in high regard, with -15 runs since the beginning of the 2024 campaign. Outs above average sees him as a much better glove with +4 outs, and while that is solid, he still only ranks 25th among players at second base.

Gonzales missed time in 2025 with a non-displaced ankle fracture, which may have affected his game this season. However, so far, his best showing has been a league-average bat with a solid glove at second base. That’s not enough for Gonzales to have the second base job all to himself going into spring training, and the Pirates have multiple avenues they could go from here.

If they sign a legitimate third baseman, that slides Jared Triolo to second base. Triolo’s .311 xwOBA this year isn’t that much worse than Gonzales’ 2024 mark. However, Triolo brings excellent defense up the middle. In only 541.1 innings at the keystone, Triolo has +10 DRS and +4 OAA for his career. The Pirates also recently claimed former top prospect Marco Luciano from the San Francisco Giants off waivers. While Luciano has his flaws, he has also not been given much of a chance in MLB, with only 126 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. Even then, his .287 xwOBA is nearly identical to Gonzales’ .290 mark from 2025.

The Pirates could take a bold route and put Termarr Johnson in the mix at second base. The 2022 first-round pick batted .272/.363/.382 with a .348 wOBA and 118 wRC+ over 503 plate appearances at Double-A Altoona. Johnson struck out at a career-low rate of 18.5%, while drawing a walk 11.7% of the time. His .111 isolated slugging percentage was below the league average rate of .130, but he provided solid production overall at the plate.

Regardless of the route the Pirates take, they cannot hand the keys to second base over to Gonzales. They either need to find a suitable replacement or have him on the hot seat from the start of spring training. His production with the bat at second base in 2025 was not acceptable if the Pirates are going to compete in 2026, especially if he isn’t a strong defender up the middle.