Jul 5, 2025
The Associated Press The Pirates’ Nick Gonzales (left) celebrates near Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford after hitting a double during the first inning Friday in Seattle. Gonzales has overcome an ankle injury that forced him to miss a big portion of the early part of this season.
PITTSBURGH — As any player will quickly attest, making it on to the field for a Major League Baseball game takes perseverance, hard work and an ability to overcome obstacles.
The game is especially difficult at the highest level, and staying in the big leagues can present an even more formidable challenge than getting there in the first place.
Injuries, illness and performance struggles — whether it’s a temporary issue or not — can eventuate a demotion from a big league club back to the minor leagues or even the dreaded designated for assignment fate.
Like almost every other team in MLB this season, players in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization have experienced their share of injuries, setbacks, ineffectiveness and misfortune.
And all would say that it’s all about how well they cope with the ups and downs that ultimately matters most.
Second baseman Nick Gonzales fouled a pitch off his left ankle this past spring training and played through pain during the exhibition season. It wasn’t until Gonzales hit an opening day home run at Miami against the Marlins that the full extent of the injury became known.
Gonzales limped around the bases after the ball sailed out of the park, and X-rays later revealed a non-displaced ankle fracture that sidelined him from major league action until June 3.
The run-producing bat of Gonzales was sorely missed in the early part of this season, when the Pirates struggled mightily offensively en route to a 12-26 start.
“It was tough, coming into the season and having to deal with that right off the bat,” Gonzales said during the Pirates’ recent homestand at PNC Park. “Fouling the ball off my ankle — it was something that I didn’t have much control of, and there was not much that I could do about it.”
It didn’t help matters that initial X-rays on Gonzales’ ankle read negative.
“It happened during spring training, and it went under the radar with the X-rays,” said Gonzales, who hit seven home runs and drove in 49 runs in 94 games for the Pirates last season. “Sometimes (the X-rays) don’t show (a fracture).
“But I finally had enough of the pain, and then on opening day, I couldn’t really run,” added Gonzales. “It was tough, especially making the opening day roster for the first time and then having to miss some time.”
Entering the start of the Pirates’ three-city, nine-game road trip Friday afternoon in Seattle, Gonzales was batting .290 this season (29 hits in 100 plate appearances), with three homers and 11 RBIs, and he accomplished a five-hit game at Milwaukee on June 23 in the Pirates’ 5-4 victory over the Brewers.
Gonzales is grateful to be back in the saddle at the big-league level after spending several weeks this past spring on a rehab assignment with the Pirates’ Class AAA Indianapolis affiliate.
“(The injury) was unfortunate, but I’m glad to be back here, glad to be playing and helping the team again,” Gonzales said.
So is David Bednar. A two-time National League All-Star closer in 2022 and 2023, Bednar encountered a bundle of difficulties during the 2024 season. A lat injury caused him to miss most of spring training that year, and a strained left oblique sidelined him for a few more weeks in midseason.
Bednar was almost a sure thing for the Pirates when he was brought on to preserve leads in games in 2022 and 2023. But in 2024, his appearances in save situations was very much touch-and-go. Bednar converted 23 saves, but blew seven saves, while racking up a 5.77 earned run average in 62 games.
His difficulties continued at the outset of this season, and the Pirates sent him to Indianapolis on April 1 after he suffered two losses and nearly blew another save opportunity in the Bucs’ four-game season-opening series in Miami.
The Pirates wanted Bednar to work on his curve ball and slider, and to regain command of the strike zone with his fast ball.
“It was just a matter of refining everything,” Bednar said. “Throwing all three pitches in the strike zone is what helps me to be successful, and it was just a matter of regaining confidence and conviction in myself, knowing that I could be good again, and taking things one day at a time.”
Bednar came back with a vengeance from the minors and has converted 11 straight save opportunities since. He sported a 2.73 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 29.2 innings pitched over 33 appearances, entering Friday’s game, and appears every bit his All-Star self again.
“Obviously, what he has done shows the work that he has put in, and the pitcher that he is,” Gonzales aid. “He’s our backbone. Any time that we need a game closed, or a save, he does it. I’ve got nothing but high praise for Bednar.”
Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has been an NL Gold Glove third baseman, but due to chronic back problems, he languished with the bat last season. A first-round MLB Draft pick by the Pirates back in 2015 who signed an eight-year, $70-million contract extension with the Bucs in April 2022, Hayes put together a solid 2023 season, batting .271 with 15 homers and 61 RBIs.
However, trouble came for Hayes in the 2024 season, when back issues limited him to 96 games, a .233 average, and just four home runs and 25 RBIs.
Last offseason, Hayes worked with an orthopedic surgeon to counter his back pain through doing specific exercises, posture and swing adjustments, as well as other techniques to minimize his pain and maximize his mobility. He also worked with a nutritionist to make diet adjustments.
Hayes has made noticeable strides this season and entered this road trip hitting safely in 11 straight games, while carding a .385 average (15 hits in 39 at-bats), with three doubles, a homer and 10 runs batted in.
Hayes has earned the admiration of Pirates’ manager Don Kelly.
“Dealing with back stuff is not fun, and he was able to come up with a routine this past offseason, and I think that’s a process that has continued to evolve for him depending on how his body feels,” Kelly said. “The stuff that he does behind the scenes every day and the process that he goes through is intense. He is continuing to feel all that out as far as his posture goes, and to stay on top of that, which is not easy to do.”
The increased recent batting production of Hayes and veteran outfielder Tommy Pham, who made an adjustment in his contact lenses to combat a longstanding eye problem, has coincided with the Pirates sweeping their six-game homestand against the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals.
Young right-handed pitcher Braxton Ashcraft made it to the major leagues with the Pirates this season after undergoing his share of tribulations throughout his minor league career.
Drafted by the Pirates in 2018, Ashraft underwent shoulder surgery on his non-throwing (left) shoulder in 2019, and Tommy John elbow surgery on his pitching arm in 2021 that sidelined him for the entire 2022 season.
Finally getting to the big leagues this year has been extra special for Ashcraft, who sports a 1.56 ERA over his first nine mound appearances this season.
“This is something that I’ve been working toward for a long time,” said Ashcraft, who has been used largely out of the bullpen by the Pirates this season but did make one start on the mound, working three scoreless innings in an opener’s role. “There have been a few bumps in the road, but I got here, I got to the big leagues.
“And now, I just want to stay here, and contribute in whatever role that I can.”
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