Gonzales allowed just an unearned run on two hits and a walk over two innings in his Cactus League debut against the Padres on Sunday.
The left-hander, already named Seattle's Opening Day starter, turned in a strong performance to kick off his spring. Encouragingly, he was efficient enough to get through multiple frames in his first outing. Despite the return of James Paxton to the Mariners this offseason, Gonzales is still rightfully considered the ace of the staff after following up the combined 29 wins he notched in 2018 and 2019 by posting a 7-2 record alongside career bests in ERA (3.10) and WHIP (0.95) across 69.2 innings in 2020.