Nick

Gonzales

It’s a routine off day for Lowe with southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez toeing the rubber for Arizona in this one. Nick Gonzales takes over at second base with Jared Triolo getting into the lineup at the hot corner. The other notable trickle-down effect here is top prospect Konnor Griffin bumping up to the sixth spot in the order, the highest he’s batted since arriving in the majors last month.

This explains why Lowe was absent from the lineup for the second straight contest despite righty Kumar Rocker taking the ball for the Rangers on Tuesday night at Globe Life Field. The 31-year-old slugging second baseman will likely receive some extra time off this week, but it doesn’t sound like a potential injured list situation based on comments from Pirates skipper Don Kelly. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now. Nick Gonzales is at second base in his place on Tuesday evening.

Lowe plays against some left-handers, but he’ll get a well-deserved day off against Rays’ southpaw Shane McClanahan in this one. At least part of the day, as he’ll likely be used off the bench in a critical spot if necessary. Nick Gonzales will start in his place at second base and bat second for the Bucs. Ryan O’Hearn and Spencer Horwitz will join him on the bench in this one.

That’s two starts in a row off for Lowe against left-handers, though one imagines he may be called on to pinch-hit later in the game. Nick Gonzales is batting fifth against LHP Shota Imanaga and the Cubs.

Nick Gonzales had started all six games coming into this one and is off to a nice start offensively (.333/.357/.407 in 28 PA), but he was on the bench in favor of Triolo at third with Konnor Griffin installed at short. It turned out to be a good choice, too. Still, the Pirates could do a bit of an offense/defense platoon with the two depending on who they have on the mound. Triolo is a Gold Glove-quality defender at third, but he doesn’t offer much upside with the bat.

It won’t be his fault, but a lot of Pirates fans are probably going to be disappointed if Gonzales is the team’s starting shortstop on Opening Day. His second base job has been primarily taken by Brandon Lowe, so if Konnor Griffin makes the Pirates, Gonzales will probably wind up limited to starting against lefties. Still, it seems a bit more likely that he’ll get the shortstop spot to himself for a little while so that Griffin can work on his defense or something in the minors.

The error was on a wild throw home on a potential play at the plate. One batter earlier, Nick Yorke, in the same situation as a relay man at second, paused a beat and delivered a strike home to throw out Ke’Bryan Hayes. Gonzales did the opposite, trying to catch and throw in one motion and fired nowhere near the plate, allowing the hitter to take second. The Pirates recently moved Gonzales to short, seeming giving his prospects a boost, but while his defense has been adequate, he hasn’t helped himself with the bat; he’s hitting .192/.229/.222 this month and .258/.291/.331 with one homer in 58 games during the second half.

He had as many RBI today as in his previous 24 games combined. Triolo initially took over as the Pirates’ everyday shortstop when Isiah Kiner-Falefa was given away, but he’s been back at third with Nick Gonzales playing shortstop lately. It seems like an unusual move, given that Triolo is probably only an adequate regular if he’s serving as an above average defensive shortstop. Gonzales, though, would also be a much more interesting regular if he proves he’s a quality shortstop. It won’t mean much for the long term if top prospect Konnor Griffin stays at shortstop, but if he eventually moves off the position, as most think he will, there are ramifications. For one, Gonzales at short would open up second base for Nick Yorke and maybe eventually Termarr Johnson next year.

After a good month of August, Reynolds has started slow in September, hitting just .200 in 14 games with one home run and 17 strikeouts. He’ll take a break with Nick Yorke moving from second base to right field, Nick Gonzales playing second base, and Cam Devanney in the lineup at third base.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine night off for the hard-hitting second baseman. Liover Peguero will start in his place and will bat seventh against Reds’ rookie right-hander Chase Burns on Friday evening in Pittsburgh.