Nick Gonzales has spent most of this season giving the Pirates exactly what they need: a steady bat, a reliable presence in the lineup and a real shot at finishing near the top of the National League leaderboard.
With nine games left in the 2026 season, Gonzales is hitting .304/.367/.392 with an .759 OPS in 141 games. That puts him first on the Pirates in batting average and fourth in the NL, and it also leaves him in the mix for a batting title that hasn’t come to Pittsburgh since Freddy Sanchez won it in 2006 with a .344 average.
Pittsburgh had Gonzales in the starting lineup at third base for the series opener against the Kansas City Royals at PNC Park on Sept. 18, another opportunity for him to close out the year on a strong note. The challenge is real, though. Gonzales sits nine points behind Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez, who leads the league at .315.
Arraez has become a familiar name in these races. He won three straight batting titles from 2022 through 2024, hitting .316 with the Minnesota Twins in 2022, .354 with the Miami Marlins in 2023 and .314 with both the Marlins and Padres in 2024.
Gonzales isn’t chasing Arraez alone. The field ahead of him also includes some hitters who are finishing fast.
Moreno is in the middle of a career year, just like Gonzales, and had never hit above .300 before. He’s been especially strong in September, posting a .333/.410/.611 line for a 1.021 OPS.
Lopez is putting together his best season as well, and after a rough August, he has bounced back in September with a .316/.418/.404 slash line and an .822 OPS. Rumfield, meanwhile, has been excellent in his rookie year and has been at his best this month, batting .408/.491/.633 with a 1.124 OPS.
For the Pirates, Gonzales has been more than a number on a leaderboard. He’s been a constant on the bases and a hitter they can count on to start something.
July was his best stretch, when he hit .388/.438/.544 with a .982 OPS, but his production has dipped since then. Since the start of August, he’s batting .260/.352/.323 with a .675 OPS.
Even with that slide, the race isn’t out of reach. Gonzales will need a big finish to catch Arraez and the rest of the competition, but the possibility is still there. And while his defensive issues have led to more time at designated hitter than at third base, his value to the Pirates’ offense has been clear.
"I hope he gets there and I hope he does it," Pirates manager Don Kelly said about Gonzales. "Awesome for him to be in the top of the batting order in the National League, and I hope that he can get up there and win it.
He should take pride in that in how he's been able to swing the bat for us. He's had some huge at-bats, and swung the bat well and been a big part of our offensive success this year."
In Other News...
Why The Pirates Fell Short Is About To Start A Fight
The Pirates postseason hopes ended when the Padres beat the Marlins, locking Pittsburgh out of the playoff picture and leaving the club to settle for a .500 finish. It was a frustrating way to close a season that once looked more promising, especially after an early burst from the offense gave the team a real foothold in the NL wild card race.
Now comes the harder conversation about why it slipped away. The bullpen never settled in, injuries thinned out key bats, and Paul Skenes did not sustain the level that made him such a centerpiece of the years expectations. There will be plenty of debate inside and outside the organization about which of those issues mattered most, and how much of the disappointment should be traced to a roster that never fully held together when it mattered most. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Face A Brandon Lowe Decision Fans Know Too Well
Brandon Lowe has given the Pirates exactly what they hoped for when they landed him in December 2025, supplying pop in the middle of the lineup and steadying second base with the kind of defense that makes the position look easy. Through 143 games, he has also become the sort of player a team wants to keep around, and Lowe has already said he is open to talking extension while expressing belief in where Pittsburgh is headed.
The problem, as Pirates fans know all too well, is whether the front office will back that up with a deal that reflects his value. Extension talks are still ongoing, but the conversation is being shaped by familiar questions about payroll limits and ownership choices, leaving the real issue less about Lowe's interest than about whether Pittsburgh will pay what it takes to keep him. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates May Be Near A Brutal Henry Davis Decision
Henry Davis has given the Pirates something they can trust behind the plate. His defense has grown into above-average work, and that matters for a club trying to stabilize a position that often gets overlooked until it becomes a problem. The catch is that his bat still has not matched the defensive progress, which keeps the conversation around him from feeling settled.
That tension helps explain why Pittsburgh reportedly looked into Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman, a player whose offensive profile is stronger even if the glove is not as polished. It also comes at a time when Rafael Flores Jr. has started to look like a legitimate option of his own, with enough ability on both sides to make the Pirates think hard about how the catcher depth chart should look going forward. [Read more 🡒]