With Gonzales on IL, Pirates faced with crucial decision

PHOENIX -- Twenty-one months ago, Nick Gonzales was in Arizona peppering the ball all over the field. Then, in his second stint in the Arizona Fall League, the seventh overall pick in the 2020 Draft was a prospect whose hitting prowess drew rave reviews and made the Pittsburgh front office and fan base alike dream about what he could bring to the top of the club’s big league batting order.

Fast-forward to Sunday and Gonzales was again in Arizona, this time walking gingerly through the clubhouse after being placed on the 10-day injured list due to left groin discomfort. His absence -- and that propensity to stack up hits -- is felt with an increased weight with 57 games remaining in the regular season, even after the Pirates were able to muster a dramatic 6-5 comeback win at Chase Field over the D-backs.

The Pirates find themselves in a unique position in the final hours leading up to the Trade Deadline: add and make a push for the division and/or one of three National League Wild Card spots, or stand pat and attempt to maximize a window beyond just 2024?

“I think our approach going into this Deadline has and will continue to be ways to try and improve the Pirates,” general manager Ben Cherington said during his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan on Sunday afternoon. “We’re trying to find ways to improve the team in total and not a specific year.”

While Cherington acknowledged that Gonzales’ absence would be measured in “weeks, not days,” he believes the 25-year-old will return during the regular season. But the clock is ticking on adding outside help with the Trade Deadline at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday. (There is no longer an additional deadline to wheel and deal players into late August, as there has been in the past.)

When it comes to internal candidates, Cherington pointed to the recently recalled Ji Hwan Bae, who has played the keystone for the Bucs in the past. Jared Triolo -- who made a spectacular grab in his first inning in right field since his freshman year at the University of Houston in 2017 -- got the start at second on Sunday before moving to the outfield late. If Pittsburgh stands pat, it’s worth wondering who will grab a hold of the position until Gonzales is ready to return.

“I'm pretty comfortable over at second base and, yeah, wherever they need me,” Triolo said postgame Sunday. “I mean, you saw it today -- I was in right field. So wherever they need me, I'll be ready.”

At Triple-A Indianapolis, Liover Peguero is having himself quite the week, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs on Sunday to add to his two homers in the series against the Cubs’ affiliate. Also a former Top 100 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline much like Gonzales, Peguero has not seen time in The Show this season but has made 35 starts at second for Indy and made just one error.

The second-base market got off to a torrid start Saturday with the Marlins dealing Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the Yankees. There are other names -- the Angels’ Luis Rengifo, the Cardinals’ Tommy Edman, the Reds’ Jonathan India -- who could fit the bill as longtime second basemen, as well as those who could pick up the spot for what would seemingly be a short-term stint, while also providing a spark for a lineup with the second-lowest batting average and OPS in the National League with runners in scoring position.

“We have had opportunities the last several days where we could have done something -- offers or a price that we could have said yes to -- and we chose not to,” Cherington said. “And there have also been things that we pursued and made offers on and we’ve gotten a ‘no’ from the other team. So we’re just in the middle of that negotiation -- nothing that fell through, we just haven’t found the match or matches yet that we feel make sense. We’ll stay at it.”

Flip a coin, 50/50 shot: Do the Bucs add to their roster within the next 48 hours?

“I’m not good at predicting these things,” Cherington said, laughing. “There’s a 100 percent chance that we’re going to work our tails off to find something, find opportunities that help us. I know we’ll do that. I hope it leads to something but … we’re not doing our jobs if we don’t have a ‘walk away’ plan, if we’re not willing to say no. We’ll see where this ends up Tuesday.”