Marco Gonzales

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Marco Elias Gonzales

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Marco Gonzales was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 29th round of the 2010 amateur draft but did not sign. After attending Gonzaga University, he was chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals and scout Matt Swanson in the first round of the 2013 amateur draft with the 19th overall pick and soon signed for a $1.85 million bonus. He was a two-way player at Gonzaga and he was also considered a major league prospect as a hitter, but the Cardinals decided to make him a full-time pitcher. He made his pro debut for the GCL Cardinals on July 8th. He also pitched for the Palm Beach Cardinals that year, ending up with a combined ERA of 2.70 and no decisions in 8 games and 23 1/3 innings on the mound.

He started the 2014 season back with Palm Beach, where he went 2-2, 1.43 in 6 starts. On May 17th, he was promoted to the Springfield Cardinals of the AA Texas League, where he was 3-2, 2.33 in 7 starts before getting the call to "The Show". When he made his debut on June 25th, as the Cards' starting pitcher against the Colorado Rockies, he was the first player from the first round of the previous year's draft to reach the big leagues, although a player taken in the supplemental first round, Corey Knebel, had preceded him by a few days. He gave up 5 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings but was not involved in the decision that day. His opponent for the Rockies, Yohan Flande, was also making his debut, although he was in his 9th season of professional baseball already. He pitched 10 times for the Cards, including 5 starts, logging 34 2/3 innings with an ERA of 4.15 and a 4-2 record. He was placed on the Cardinals' roster for the postseason and proved a key man in the win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, as he received credit for two of his team's three wins while pitching middle relief. He gave up no runs on 2 hits in 3 innings, but in the NLCS he was charged with a loss in Game 4 when he gave up 3 runs in two-thirds of an inning, ending a streak of five straight postseason appearances in which he had not given up a run.

In 2015, injuries limited him to a single appearance in the major leagues, a start against the Washington Nationals on September 1st in which he gave up 4 runs on 7 hits in 2 2/3 innings, but escaped with a no-decision as the Cardinals won, 8-5. He went 1-5, 5.45 in 14 starts for the Memphis Redbirds in AAA, also making a couple of appearances each on rehabilitation assignments with Palm Beach and Springfield. He then missed all of 2016 with an injury.

On July 21, 2017, the Cardinals traded Marco to the Seattle Mariners in return for another prospect, OF Tyler O'Neill. He went 1-1, 5.40 in 10 games after the trade, after making only one start for the Cards before that. Gonzales joined the Mariners' starting rotation in 2018 and was one of the major contributors to the team having an excellent first half. On June 29th, he pitched his first career complete game in defeating the Kansas City Royals, 4-1. He and James Paxton were the team's best two pitchers, although Marco had the advantage of being healthy almost all season, He finished at 13-9, 4.00 in 29 starts, logging 166 2/3 innings. Paxton left via trade after the season, and with the continuing decline of long-time ace Felix Hernandez, he was the one tabbed to make the opening day start for Seattle in 2019. It came earlier than most years, as the Mariners and Oakland Athletics opened the year with a two-game series at the Tokyo Dome on March 20-21. He had a solid start, lasting 6 innings, and while he gave up 4 early runs, he left with a comfortable 9-4 lead and was credited with his team's win. He then made it two wins in two starts when he started the Mariners' home opener on MLB's official opening day, March 28th, defeating the defending World Series champions, the Boston Red Sox, 12-4 while pitching 5 1/3 innings. On April 2nd, he made it three wins in three starts when he defeated the Los Angeles Angels, 2-1; he pitched in the 9th and wanted to record a complete game, but manager Scott Servais was wary of seeing his pitch count rise too much at that early point of the season and called on Anthony Swarzak to record the final two outs. He went 16-13, 3.99 that season, tying for the American League lead with 34 starts and logging 2023 inning.

Gonzales was probably the Mariners' best pitcher in 2020 and 2021 as he went 7-2m 3.10 the first year and 10-6, 3.96 the second. 2020 was of course the year when the season was cut to just 60 games by the COVID-19 pandemic, so he was limited to just 11 starts, but they were very good ones. In 2022, it was injuries that cut his time short, as he was limited to 24 starts, but again pitched very well when he got the ball. the Mariners extended their long streak of missing the postseason those two years, but in 2022 ended the skein thanks in large part to an influx of young players who made important contributions. By then, Gonzales had hit 30 years of age and was one of a small number of veterans on the team. He did not have a particularly good year, as his 15 losses led the American League and he finished at 10-15, 4.13 in 32 starts, logging 183 innings. His strikeout rate of 5.1 per 9 innings was among the lowest among regular starting pitchers in the majors, and as a result he was left aside during the postseason, not seeing any action as Seattle played two rounds. In 2023, he went 4-1 in just 10 starts, but with an ERA of 5.22. He made his final start on May 28th, then went on the injured list with "left forearm strain". He underwent surgery in August to decompress a nerve, a procedure that was still rare but had been successful with other pitchers in the past.

After the 2023 season, he was no longer in Seattle's plans, but was still due a hefty salary. On December 3rd, he was packaged along with another overpriced but unproductive player, 1B Evan White, and a genuine major leaguer in OF Jarred Kelenic, going to the Atlanta Braves in return for two pitching prospects in Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips. Kelenic was obviously the key piece in the deal, but the Braves had had success in the past in getting good years out of pitchers like Gonzales whose best days seemed apparently to be in the past. However, he only stayed with the Braves for 48 hours, as on December 5th, he was traded again, this time to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later, with the Bucs also receiving money to cover part of his remaining salary.

Gonzales' father, Frank Gonzales, pitched and coached in the minor leagues.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • 15 Wins Seasons: 1 (2019)
  • 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (2019)

Further Reading[edit]

  • Jason Beck: "Pirates add to rotation by landing Gonzales from Braves", mlb.com, December 5, 2023. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

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