Jacob Gonzalez is back in front of the White Sox this week, but the bigger test is the one waiting for the Pirates.
Pittsburgh’s first series against Chicago since the July 11 trade lands at a much different moment than the one that helped justify the deal in the first place. Back then, the Pirates sent left-hander Jaden Woods and the No. 34 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft to the White Sox for Gonzalez and reliever Brandon Eisert, with general manager Ben Cherington pointing to Konnor Griffin’s absence as part of the reasoning. Gonzalez, Cherington said, could help alongside Nick Gonzales and Jared Triolo on the left side of the infield while Griffin was injured.
Two months later, Griffin is back. That changes everything.
Griffin is set to play shortstop almost every day, Brandon Lowe should get the bulk of the work at second base, and Nick Gonzales has started to look more like a DH who can cover second on Lowe’s off days than Pittsburgh’s answer at third. Nick Gonzales has hit .306/.369/.393 this season, but his defensive record at third has made that arrangement harder to defend.
So the third-base picture has narrowed to Gonzalez and Jared Triolo. That’s where Pittsburgh needs Gonzalez to start pulling away.
The early returns have been rough. Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Gonzalez is hitting .202/.229/.365 with four homers and 13 RBI in 109 plate appearances. That stands in sharp contrast to what he was doing in Triple-A, where he tore up Charlotte pitching for a .320 average, 19 homers and a 1.097 OPS in 53 games.
For the third time today...Jacob Gonzalez sends one out!! 💪💪💪 pic.twitter.com/pgOmBX8Lxr
- Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) May 29, 2026
Triolo, though, hasn’t exactly set a high bar at the plate. That’s been his profile for years: if someone else can hit enough to justify taking his glove out of the lineup, the Pirates will make the switch.
Ke’Bryan Hayes never brought enough offense and was eventually moved. Nick Gonzales can hit, but his defense has made third base an uneasy fit.
Now Jacob Gonzalez gets his shot.
And Pittsburgh paid for the chance to make that evaluation. The Pirates gave up the No. 34 pick, which Chicago used on infielder Landon Thome, along with Woods. Eisert, the other player Pittsburgh got back, has a 6.00 ERA this season and was sent back to Triple-A when Griffin returned from the injured list.
It’s too soon to call the trade a failure. Thome is 18 and years away from helping anyone, and Gonzalez is still only 24. But the terms of the deal have shifted.
What started as a stopgap move for Griffin’s injury no longer has that cushion. Now Gonzalez has to be more than a temporary fix. If this trade is going to look worthwhile, he probably has to become Pittsburgh’s answer at third base.
And if his bat levels off somewhere ordinary, with the decision eventually coming down to Gonzalez’s glove versus Triolo’s, it’s hard to see Gonzalez winning that battle.
In Other News...
Pirates Bullpen Takes Another Hit During Crucial Playoff Push
The Pirates bullpen depth took another hit as the club placed right-hander Isaac Mattson on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Sept. 6 because of right hip impingement. To fill the opening, left-handed reliever Brandon Eisert was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis, giving Pittsburgh another arm as it tries to keep its late-inning plans intact down the stretch.
Mattsons absence comes at an inconvenient time for a team that is already dealing with another bullpen injury, with Kirby Yates also on the injured list. For a club trying to stay sharp in a crucial playoff push, every unavailable reliever makes the margin thinner, and the Pirates are now leaning harder on organizational depth to cover the innings that still have to be banked. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates May Be Telling Fans Exactly How They View Nick Gonzales
Nick Gonzales has given the Pirates plenty to like at the plate, but the way they have used him lately says just as much about how they see his glove. In recent games, Pittsburgh has leaned on him as the designated hitter to cut down on his defensive exposure, especially at third base, where the metrics have not been kind. It is a practical move for a club trying to squeeze value out of a bat that has been producing at a strong clip while keeping the rest of the roster fresh.
The balancing act is the telling part. Gonzales is still being mixed back into infield spots depending on matchups, but the Pirates are clearly trying to optimize the lineup around his strengths rather than force him into one everyday defensive role. For a player hitting well over .300 with a solid wRC+, that kind of usage suggests Pittsburgh is prioritizing offense first and treating the defensive side as the piece it most wants to manage. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates May Have Found A Catcher Who Changes Their Timeline
Axiel Plazs breakthrough season at High-A Greensboro gave the Pirates another reminder that their catching pipeline may be moving faster than expected. He earned South Atlantic League Player of the Week honors, put together impressive batting numbers and showed a level of consistency that stood out whether he was playing at home or on the road. For a club always trying to line up the next wave of talent, that kind of across-the-board growth matters just as much as the raw production.
What makes Plaz especially interesting for Pittsburgh is how much he improved from previous seasons while strengthening his case as one of the organizations top power-hitting prospects. The Pirates are expecting him to begin the 2027 season in Double-A, which suggests they see a player who is still developing but already forcing his way up the ladder. If that climb continues, Plaz could end up affecting the teams timeline in a way few catching prospects ever do. [Read more 🡒]