Marco Gonzales had built a reputation as a workhorse with a sub-4.00 ERA for the Seattle Mariners, so the left-hander knew something was wrong when he felt soreness that had his forearm aching.
The injury was difficult to diagnose, as it felt different than the ulnar collateral ligament tear that had required Tommy John surgery in 2016. Gonzales had “a ton of scans” to figure out what was causing the discomfort, only for them to keep coming back clean.
The discovery that a “tiny little nerve” was getting pinched led to season-ending surgery and an offseason of uncertainty. Gonzales was traded twice, ultimately ending up with the Pittsburgh Pirates who were starved for starting pitching and willing to take a chance on him.
Gonzales entered spring training as one of three proven starters in the Pirates’ rotation, along with a 2023 All-Star in right-hander Mitch Keller and a 2022 All-Star in fellow lefty Martin Perez.
“I’m trying to earn my spot,” Gonzales said, “just like anybody else.”
The 32-year-old Gonzales now sports an S-shaped scar on his left forearm. It’s the mark of a cleanout of his anterior interosseous nerve, which controls motor function for pronating the wrist and index finger. It’s a rare condition among pitchers, a sign of overuse. The procedure was performed in August by Dr. Steven Shin, the director of hand surgery at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles.
“The scar is worse than the actual procedure,” Gonzales said. “He said it was very straightforward, quick and easy, 30 minutes. Then I was throwing again in eight weeks. Night and day from Tommy John.”
Now, it’s about dealing with the scar tissue. Gonzales hadn’t pitched in a game since going 5 2/3 innings in the Seattle Mariners’ 6-3 win over the Pirates on May 28, so his biggest opponent was overcoming doubts built by the long layoff about throwing a ball at maximum effort again.
Gonzales felt good about his elevated four-seamer, changeup and cutter in his debut, despite giving up three runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings against the Atlanta Braves on Feb. 27.
“There’s always that question in your mind until you do it of, ‘Am I timid? Am I going to hold back a little bit?’” Gonzales said. “I had the same thing with Tommy John, coming back from that, so I’ve had experience with rehab in a major surgery. Luckily, this nerve thing wasn’t as major but regaining confidence at max effort is something that takes time. I’m fortunate to go out there and compete confidently.”
The confidence came back, even as Gonzales allowed five earned runs on 12 hits and two walks as opponents batted .444 against him in five innings in his first two Grapefruit League starts. He is scheduled to make his third start of spring training against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.
“What he brings is a sense of veteran stability,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “What I like about him is the way he engages with people, his conversations right off the bat. That’s really important. He and Martin Perez have done that from the jump, which is important because we have a bunch of young pitchers and we have a bunch of young starters.”
Gonzales has made 155 starts in nine major league seasons, going 61-47 in seven years with the Mariners. He went 16-13 with a 3.99 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 34 starts in 2019, but showed signs of trouble when he gave up 29 home runs in 2021 and 30 in ‘22. Last year, Gonzales was 4-1 with a 5.22 ERA in 10 starts but ranked in MLB’s bottom 10th in fastball velocity (89 mph), strikeout rate (15.8%) and whiff rate (19.8%) before being shut down to solve his forearm issues.
The Mariners traded Gonzales to the Braves on Dec. 4 in a salary dump. The Pirates, who had lost Johan Oviedo to Tommy John surgery, took advantage of the history between pitching coach Oscar Marin and Gonzales dating to their time together in Seattle. Knowing that Seattle and Atlanta were picking up a portion of his $12 million salary, the Pirates didn’t hesitate to acquire Gonzales.
“We got a degree of confidence in where he was physically ready relatively quickly,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “Then you look back and see a left-handed pitcher who pitches with a style that’s been effective at PNC (Park) and anticipate better health going forward in 2024. We had off-the-charts reports about the person and character, too, which was the last piece of it. We were able to weave that together quickly and had to decide to pounce or not pounce, and we decided to pounce.”
Gonzales also has a relationship with lefty reliever Ryan Borucki, a former Mariners teammate, and quickly built a bond with Perez. They are former AL West rivals, and Perez also is seeking a bounce-back season after being moved to the Texas Rangers’ bullpen last year.
“Hopefully, he’s as excited as I am to be in this rotation together,” Gonzales said. “I think we both feel like we have a lot in the tank. We’re both ready and eager. I’m excited that, hopefully, we can kind of push each other and compete and make each other better.”
