Photo provided by the Pittsburgh Pirates
Jacob Gonzalez’ first stint in the big leagues with the White Sox came to an end after 30 games when he was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.
It was a short stint down in Triple-A, a total of two innings in fact. The reason wasn’t because the White Sox called him back up to the big leagues, but because Gonzalez was traded to the Pirates late Friday night. The 24-year-old waited in the locker room for a couple hours until he found out he had been traded.
“I’m excited for this opportunity and I’m happy to be here,” Gonzalez said on Saturday. “Hopefully we win a lot of games.”
Gonzalez was acquired along with left-handed reliever Brandon Eisert from the White Sox for the 34th pick in Saturday’s draft and left-handed pitching prospect Jaden Woods.
Gonzalez was called up to the big leagues for the first time on May 30 — his birthday — and made his debut at home against the Tigers the following day and went 1 for 3. In 30 games with Chicago on the season, Gonzalez batted .244/.323/.360 with four doubles, two home runs and 17 RBIs.
Defensively, he filled in at first base for the injured Munetaka Murakami, but is capable of playing all four infield positions. The majority of his professional reps have come at shortstop, and Gonzalez is expected to platoon there with Jared Triolo while Konnor Griffin is on the 60-day injured list.
“I am a shortstop, I just play everywhere,” he said. “I feel comfortable everywhere.”
One of the biggest appeals for the Pirates is the strides Gonzalez took offensively in Triple-A this season. A 2023 first-round pick out of Ole Miss, Gonzalez struggled offensively through his first couple minor league seasons, but he slashed .320/.422/.675 with 12 doubles, one triple, a career-high 19 home runs and 63 RBIs in 53 games with Charlotte on the season.
A subtle change, and one Gonzalez was hesitant to make, is the reason. Instead of stepping directly towards the pitcher when he was up at bat, he changed his landing spot.
“A lot of minor adjustments, but the really lightbulb moment at the end of ‘25, I started striding closed, and it really lined up my body to where I hadn’t been in the last couple years,” he explained.
The idea came from Gonzalez’s father. The two talk hitting often, and after looking at video of then-Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas, he implemented the change.
“I was like, ‘I can’t do that. That’s kind of scary, stepping towards the plate. The ball is coming right there,’” Gonzalez explained. “I just tried one game and it was like a night and day difference in the way my body moved towards the pitcher. Before, my body was moving out of the way towards first base. Once I did that, it wasn’t perfect right away. I still had to work on it during the offseason, but we knew we were on the right track.”
Gonzalez wasn’t in the starting lineup for either of the two games he was available for over the weekend after getting added to the active roster since the Brewers had left-handed starters on the mound for each game. But he made his team debut as a late-game replacement in the Pirates’ blowout win over Milwaukee on Sunday.
But Gonzalez is a player the Pirates like, and until Griffin returns from the IL, expect to see him quite a bit at shortstop.
“With Konnor out, Jacob gives us another left-side infielder to be part of this team going forward,” said general manager Ben Cherington. “We have confidence in what we have, believe in him. Also believe in the longer term, after this year.”
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