Nick Gonzales hasn’t been the first name that comes up when the Pirates’ offense gets discussed this season, but he’s forced his way into a different kind of conversation with a little more than a month left in 2026.
The obvious Pittsburgh Silver Slugger chatter starts elsewhere. Brandon Lowe leads the team in home runs, and it isn’t close.
Oneil Cruz has the kind of power that makes the award feel possible every spring. Konnor Griffin may eventually turn into a regular contender.
Gonzales, though, has quietly built a case of his own - and the most interesting part is that it may not be at the spot he’s played most often.
He’s hitting .305/.365/.394 with a .759 OPS, 22 doubles and 56 RBI. That .305 average ranks second among qualified National League hitters, behind only Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez.
That’s the kind of production that turns heads on its own. The wrinkle is where voters are supposed to file him.
Gonzales has spent most of the season at third base, with 100 games there, compared with 31 at second and four at shortstop. On paper, that points to third base as the most natural Silver Slugger lane. The problem is that third base is also where his lighter power profile stands out most sharply.
Max Muncy has looked like the more conventional third-base choice, with an OPS comfortably north of .800 and more than 20 home runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gonzales has been better at reaching base and putting the ball in play, but six home runs doesn’t scream “Slugger” to the usual voter.
That’s where the utility spot comes into play.
MLB gives one Silver Slugger to a utility player in each league, and Gonzales has the kind of season that fits there neatly. He already appears to meet the utility standards used last year, including at least 100 games overall and 20-plus games at multiple positions.
What makes the case stronger is the way he’s done it. Gonzales has been one of the toughest outs in the National League, batting above .300 with a strikeout rate around 17 percent. In a league where so many productive hitters punch out more than a quarter of the time, that ability to keep the ball in play matters.
There’s still room for the argument to grow in September. If Gonzales stays around .310, finishes near the top of the National League batting race and nudges his OPS closer to .780, voters will have a hard time brushing him aside just because he doesn’t have 25 home runs. In the utility category, that kind of production carries real weight because there isn’t just one offensive mold a player has to fit.
For Pittsburgh, it would be a notable outcome for a player who didn’t begin the year with the same spotlight as the club’s biggest young names. Gonzales has become one of the team’s most reliable hitters while showing he can move around the infield without losing anything at the plate.
The Pirates don’t need him to morph into a 30-homer bat. They need the same thing they’ve been getting: steady at-bats, contact, on-base skills and the kind of defensive versatility that makes a lineup easier to build.
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