Mailbag: Marco Gonzales trade, Pitching call ups, Matt Gorski

Another weekly mailbag takes a look at a wide variety of topics.

Photo Credit: WTM

Matthew Painter (email): I was wondering if you knew concerning the Marco Gonzales trade, if the Braves have simply settled for a cash return or if indeed there will be a PTBNL going back to them? If a player, do we know the quality or tier type player they would be getting?

Currently, there has been no update as to whether it will be a player or cash considerations. Teams usually have six months to decide what it will be.

Ethan tweeted out that if they go the cash route, it can’t be more than $100,000.

As far as who the player might be, I wouldn’t expect it to be anyone too noticeable. If I remember correctly, the last PBTNL trade they did, they sent Ricky DeVito to the Texas Rangers for Mark Mathias.

Could it be someone noteworthy? Possibly. It could end up being someone who is Rule 5 eligible or going to be so that the Pirates can shave one off their list.

Until then, we will have to hold out to hear more.

JoeSolo: The Pirates as presently constructed don’t seem like a very competitive team. However, by June or July, when they bring up some much-needed starting pitching, things will appear more positive. Will they bring up Skenes, JT, Burrows if healthy, along with Jones and Solo.

I mean, unless Skenes really shows he needs some added time adjusting to the professional workload, he’ll be up at some point this year.

I don’t think Solometo will be up this year, and I think that’s fine if he isn’t. I loved the aggressive push to Double-A, but he’s still really super young, and there are things he’s working on still. I don’t believe there is a zero possibility, but there are a lot of worst-case scenarios running through my head that would need to happen if Solometo is making anything more than a one-game cameo at the end of the season.

That likely includes the Pirates not being in playoff contention, so that’s an ideal scenario.

Part of me feels like Jared Jones could be up before Skenes. He’s pitched 120+ innings the last two years on a pro routine and has done well with it. I don’t think he makes the team out of camp, but he could be one of the first to come up.

Brubaker should be back around the All-Star break; I noticed in the game thread on Sunday that WTM mentioned seeing him pitch on a mound, which is a good sign.

There’s a chance we don’t see Burrows this year, at least in Pittsburgh. He had his surgery about a month after Brubaker and has not made it to the majors yet.

It’s probably ideal for the Pirates to ease Burrows back in 2024 and let him compete for a roster spot in 2025.

From Twitter: Connor Williams (@Win_Williams) - What happens first, Gorski changing his swing mechanics or Gorski looks for a new career path?

I’ve always been amazed that Gorski can make the hard contact he’s able to make when he’s able to make it, based on his swing.

There are so many moving parts, and none of them seem in unison, but the dude is ripped, so when he makes contact with it, the ball gets out quickly.

He’s always had the tools, it’s just a matter of putting it together, I’ve been wondering if the Pirates would ever step in and try to tinker anything, but haven’t seen it yet.

When I was at P2, I remember Tim talking to Gorski and Callix Crabbe, and I want to say they did a slight cleanup, so it was either worse, or he fell back into bad habits.

Gorski is a fantastic defender; he had an outfield assist in Sunday’s Spring Training game and struck out in both at-bats.

A dream scenario would be him figuring it out and coming off the bench to help the corners that don’t grade out too well for the Pirates. He probably could, but he would be incredibly limited offensively.