Pirates plan to develop Jacob Gonzalez at shortstop after trade

Pittsburgh paid Jaden Woods and the No. 34 pick to land Jacob Gonzalez and Brandon Eisert, and Ben Cherington said Gonzalez can help on the left side of the infield while Konnor Griffin recovers. Pittsburgh also wants the 24-year-old to keep getting shortstop work rather than locking him into a bat-only role.

Griffin, 20, went down with a torn sagittal band in his left ring finger on July 6 and was expected to miss 8 to 10 weeks before the Pirates moved him to the 60-day injured list. In the short term, Gonzalez gives Cherington another left-side option with Nick Gonzales and Jared Triolo. In the longer term, the organization is trying to keep Gonzalez on a shortstop track that has defined most of his baseball life.

In 53 games for Triple-A Charlotte, Gonzalez hit .320 with 12 doubles, 19 home runs, 63 RBI, 33 walks, eight stolen bases and a 1.097 OPS. He ranked second in the International League in RBI and tied for fifth in home runs, then took the league’s May Player of the Month award after batting .344 with 11 homers and 36 RBI in 24 games. Even with that surge, his first major league look was more modest: .244 with four doubles, two home runs, 17 RBI, eight walks and 11 runs in 30 games.

Gonzalez was the No. 15 overall pick in 2023 out of Mississippi, where he won a College World Series, claimed National Freshman of the Year honors in 2021 and finished as a Brooks Wallace Award semifinalist in 2023. At the time of the trade, Baseball America ranked him No. 16 in the White Sox system and MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 22, even though his current MLB player page lists him as a first baseman.