The Pirates declined Gonzales' (forearm) $15 million club option for 2025 on Monday, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Gonzales will miss most, if not all, of the 2025 season after having flexor tendon surgery in September, so declining the option was a given. He'll enter free agency as he continues the rehab process.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Undergoes surgery
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Gonzales underwent flexor tendon repair surgery on his left forearm Friday, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Gonzales is expected to need 12 months before returning to play, meaning he could be sidelined for the entire 2025 campaign. The Pirates are expected to decline his $15 million team option for next season.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Slated for flexor tendon surgery
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Gonzales will undergo left flexor tendon surgery in early September and is expected to be sidelined for 9-to-12 months, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Gonzales is getting his second forearm surgery in just over a year, as he had an operation last August for a nerve issue. The lefty was ready in time for Opening Day after last year's surgery, but the upcoming procedure will be more invasive, and he could be sidelined until around midseason. Gonzales, who turns 33 in February, will be a free agent this offseason after the Pirates decline his $15 million club option for 2025.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Goes on 60-day IL
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The Pirates placed Gonzales on the 60-day injured list Monday with a left forearm strain, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The Pirates found out earlier in the day that Gonzales would require a trip to the IL, and after reviewing the extent of the injury, the club has elected to shut him down for the rest of the season. He'll finish the 2024 campaign with a 4.54 ERA and 1.60 WHIP with 23 strikeouts over 33.2 innings of work. Jake Woodford will move from the bullpen to fill Gonzales' spot in the rotation Monday in San Diego, while Pittsburgh selected the contract of Ryder Ryan from Triple-A Indianapolis to replace Gonzales on the 40-man roster.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Headed to IL
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Gonzales will be placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left forearm strain, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Gonzales struggled mightily in his last start Wednesday against the Padres, but the team neglected to report any injury news until Monday. It's still too early to know when Gonzales could return to the starting rotation, and Stumpf notes that the team is still gathering more information on the southpaw's injury to determine a rehab plan.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Struggles again Wednesday
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Gonzales allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out three batters over 4.2 innings during a no-decision against San Diego on Wednesday.
Gonzales was staked to a 2-0 lead after the first inning but couldn't hold it. He gave up a solo shot to Jackson Merrill in the second frame and a three-run blast to Kyle Higashioka in the fourth, then was pulled with one out in the fifth after surrendering a go-ahead single to Merrill. It was Gonzales' third straight start of fewer than five innings, and he's posted an ugly 8.49 ERA and 2.31 WHIP during that span.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Can't get through three frames
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Gonzales did not factor into the decision in a loss to Arizona on Saturday, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks over 2.1 innings while striking out one.
Gonzales didn't have his best stuff Saturday, allowing multiple baserunners in all three innings in which he appeared before being relieved by Dennis Santana. It marked the shortest outing of the season for the lefty, while the four runs he surrendered on the night also marked a season high. Gonzales has failed to make it through five innings in back-to-back starts and carries a meager 9:4 K:BB in July to go along with a 5.25 ERA.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Decent in defeat
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Gonzales (1-1) took the loss Sunday against Philadelphia, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk across 4.2 innings. He struck out four.
Both runs against Gonzales came in the second inning, when he allowed a leadoff single to Alec Bohm and a double to Edmundo Sosa to put two runners in scoring position with one out. Weston Wilson brought in Bohm on a sacrifice fly, then Garrett Stubbs plated Sosa on a base hit. While Gonzales hasn't been dominant in his two starts since being activated from the injured list, he's been reliable, yielding three runs on 13 hits and one walk across 9.2 innings. The 32-year-old is slated to face the Diamondbacks in Arizona next weekend.
Gonzales (1-0) picked up the win Friday in a 4-1 victory over the White Sox, allowing one run on seven hits over five innings. He struck out four without walking a batter.
The veteran lefty pitched well in his return to the big-league rotation, but Gonzales appeared to be in danger of taking a tough loss until the Pittsburgh offense got rolling in the fifth inning. He tossed an efficient 60 pitches (45 strikes) in his first big-league action since April 13, and with more rest coming over the All-Star break, Gonzales should be ready for a normal workload when he next heads to the mound.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Officially actived
Rotowire
The Pirates reinstated Gonzales (forearm) from the 60-day injured list, and he'll start Friday's game against the White Sox.
Gonzales has been shelved since April due to a forearm strain, but he's been cleared to return and will immediately step into the rotation. The veteran lefty did struggle during a pair of rehab starts at Triple-A, recording a 6.14 ERA across 7.1 innings, but he'll likely have some room for error against a White Sox team that has one of the worst offenses in MLB.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Set to start Friday
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Gonzales (forearm) will be activated from the 60-day injured list and start Friday's game against the White Sox, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Gonzales hasn't pitched for the Pirates since April 14, when he suffered a forearm strain in his left (throwing) arm. After a long rehab process capped by a pair of starts with Triple-A Indianapolis, Gonzales will finally make his return. The 32-year-old yielded five runs in 17 innings before sustaining the injury but struggled with Indianapolis, surrendering five runs on seven hits and five walks across 7.1 innings. He'll face a White Sox team that has scored the fewest runs per game in MLB this season.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Completes second rehab start
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Gonzales (forearm) struck out three and allowed four runs on four hits and four walks over 4.1 innings in his rehab start with Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday.
Gonzales tossed 62 pitches (35 strikes) in the start, his second with Indianapolis since beginning his rehab assignment Monday. According to Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said that Gonzales (forearm) has built up his pitch count enough to be considered for one of the two spots in the rotation that opened up when Jared Jones (lat) and Bailey Falter (triceps) were both recently placed on the 15-day injured list. Quinn Priester tossed five innings of one-run ball in his rehab outing this past Tuesday with Indianapolis and will likely be activated from the IL before Gonzales, but the Pirates could still bring back the veteran southpaw from the 60-day IL at some point during next weekend's series versus the White Sox to close out their first-half schedule.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Cleared to begin rehab assignment
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Gonzalez (forearm) will begin a rehab assignment Monday with Triple-A Indianapolis, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Gonzales has been sidelined since mid-April with a left forearm strain but has been cleared for game action following nearly three weeks of throwing off a mound without issue. Given how much time he's missed, the left-hander's rehab assignment should be fairly lengthy, but a return from the 60-day injured list before the end of July is likely if he doesn't encounter any setbacks.
Gonzales (forearm) will throw live batting practice at Double-A Altoona on Wednesday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
After throwing a handful of bullpen sessions since the beginning of June, Gonzales will now go up against live minor-league hitters as the next step in his rehab process. Assuming all goes well Wednesday, the 32-year-old lefty will likely begin playing in rehab games with Altoona shortly afterward.
Gonzales (forearm) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Tuesday, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Gonzales has been on the injured list since mid-April but has slowly ramped up his activity. Tuesday marked his third bullpen session, and the next step in his return will be live batting practice Friday.
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Pirates' Marco Gonzales: Tosses bullpen session
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Gonzales (forearm) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Wednesday, MLB.com reports.
Wednesday's session marked Gonzales' first time throwing off a slope since hitting the injured list in mid-April. He's expected to continue to ramp up with side sessions before heading out on what will presumably be a lengthy rehab assignment.
