The Pirates were initially seen as failures in the offseason when they weren’t able to add a player to be their everyday third baseman. The Ke’Bryan Hayes trade that the team made at the deadline in 2025 left more questions than answers and admittedly I thought the Pirates were foolish to trade Hayes away in the first place. I’m happy now to eat crow and admit that the gamble to this point has paid off, and Nick Gonzales has been a welcomed presence at the hot corner.
Gonzales overall has put together a nice campaign in the early parts of the 2026 season. It was fortuitous for Gonzales that Jared Triolo landed on the injured list at the beginning of April with right knee injury, but the former has made the most of his opportunities as a starter. This year the New Mexico State product is hitting .319/.379/.363 with a .741 OPS. Gonzales has scored 21 runs of his own and has batted in 21 as well with 51 total hits at this point in the season. Gonzales is also hitting .364 with runners in scoring position.
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Not only is Gonzales proving to be a valued asset for Pittsburgh, he’s shown that the Pirates sticking with the core of defenders that they have was the smart move. While a long term upgrade at the position could still be on the horizon, the interim has worked out just fine. As a matter of fact, Gonzales has the highest WAR amongst all other qualified National League Central third baseman.
Considering he is essentially serving as a replacement for Hayes, it’s incredible how much better Gonzales has been performing in comparison to the former Bucco. Gonzales’ 1.2 WAR on the season speaks volumes within the division, especially considering the fact that Hayes’ has a lowly -0.2 WAR with an ugly .142/.195/.225 slash line. Gonzales is also outperforming Alex Bergman who has a 0.8 WAR, Nolan Gorman who has a 0.5 WAR and Luis Rengifo who has a -0.5 WAR.
To put it plainly, Gonzales contributes to winning baseball games. Despite the fact that the Pirates sit at fourth in the tightly contested NL Central, their 26-24 record has been a major improvement from how the team looked last year. Gonzales doesn’t provide a ton of pop at the plate, but he is a sure contact hitter, and having him in the lineup more consistently has contributed to more scoring opportunities.
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Gonzales is back to splitting time with Jared Triolo at third base now that he’s healthy, but manager Don Kelly has stuck with the hot bat for the most part since the latter’s return. Both make meaningful contributions to the team, but Gonzales is having a special year at the plate and really affects winning for this Pittsburgh ball club in a way that Triolo has not been able to to this point.
