For the Pittsburgh Pirates, this was less about a one-game lineup tweak than a clearer answer to a longer question: how do they get the most offense out of Nick Gonzales without asking his glove to carry more than it should?
On Aug. 21, against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, Gonzales was moved to designated hitter and batted fourth in the series opener. It was his first career start at DH, and it fit the way the Pirates have tried to use him this season: as a productive bat first, and as a player whose defensive responsibilities can be adjusted when needed.
Why the Pirates made the move
The logic is straightforward. Don Kelly wants the best offensive output from his players, and Gonzales has given Pittsburgh enough with the bat to justify a spot near the middle of the order. This season, he entered the game with a.310/.368/.404 line and a.772 OPS, along with 140 hits, 22 doubles, one triple, six home runs and 53 RBI. Those are not empty numbers. They point to a hitter who has been one of the more reliable sources of contact in the lineup.
The broader picture is even stronger. Gonzales ranked third on the team in batting average and had appeared in 98 games with 91 starts. For a Pirates club trying to maximize every run, that kind of steady production matters. Putting him at DH is a way to preserve his offense while removing some of the defensive burden that has become harder to ignore.
The defensive issue is part of the story
Gonzales had spent most of his games at third base, but the numbers there are not flattering. He came into the day with minus-14 defensive runs saved and minus-11 outs above average. That kind of profile makes a positional shift understandable, especially when a team is looking for cleaner edges in tight games. The Pirates are not just trying to get Nick Gonzales into the lineup. They are trying to put him in the version of the lineup that helps them most.
That is the key point here. This is not a demotion in any meaningful sense. It is an adjustment built around what he already does well. The Pirates have reason to believe his bat can hold its place against high-level competition, even if his defensive work at third base has created problems they would rather avoid.
And against the Dodgers, a matchup that rarely leaves much room for wasted at-bats or hidden liabilities, that calculation becomes even more important. The Pirates are signaling that Gonzales is part of their offensive plan. The question now is whether this is the start of a larger role shift, or simply the first step in a more flexible way of using one of their better hitters.
