The Pittsburgh Pirates placed left-handed pitcher Marco Gonzales on the 60-day injured list, prior to Monday night’s game with the San Diego Padres. Gonzales went down with a left forearm strain. As a replacement, the Pirates purchased the contract of right-handed pitcher Ryder Ryan.
Gonzales was acquired by the Pirates over the offseason in a salary dump trade with the Atlanta Braves. The lefty was traded from Seattle to Atlanta in a separate deal, then was traded to the Pirates from the Braves. The Braves picked up $9.25 million of the $12 million that Gonzales was owed, which after a $250,000 trade assignment bonus, left the Pirates paying him $3 million this year.
The reason Gonzales came so cheap is because he was coming off an injury-shortened year, dealing with a nerve issue in his pitching forearm. He only pitched 50 innings for Seattle, putting up a 5.22 ERA. He went back on the injured list earlier this season with a left forearm muscle strain, missing about three months from the Major League roster. Gonzales returned in mid-July, and made four starts before this most recent injury to the same forearm.
This will end the 2024 season for Gonzales. In total, he pitched 33.2 innings across seven starts for the Pirates, with a 4.54 ERA.
Ryan has been up and down with the Pirates all season, combining for a 5.29 ERA in 17 innings out of the bullpen. He’s got 16 strikeouts and eight walks during that time. He made the team as a depth option out of Spring Training, then was optioned on April 9th. He returned less than a week later, when Gonzales first went on the injured list. He’s been optioned to the minors five times this year, and was recently designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A following the trade deadline.
The Pirates are unable to option Ryan to Triple-A again, as he’s reached the maximum of five in-season options. If they remove him from the roster, he would need to be designated for assignment again. He could also refuse the outright assignment this time and elect free agency. Those circumstances are unlikely to change how the Pirates have been using him, which is strictly as a depth option.
