Pirates recall infielder Nick Gonzales, option SS Alika Williams
After a strong September at Triple-A Indianapolis, middle infielder Nick Gonzales will finish the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates recalled Gonzales, their 2020 first-round pick, Tuesday before the start of their three-game series at the Philadelphia Phillies. To make room on the active roster, they optioned shortstop Alika Williams.
This is the second stint in the majors for Gonzales, who batted .216/.268/.353 with six doubles, a triple, two home runs and 13 RBIs in 31 games from June 23 to Aug. 3.
Gonzales, 24, led the International League with six homers, 15 extra-base hits and 57 total bases in September, when he batted .338 with a 1.099 OPS in 21 games at Indianapolis. He hit .424 (14 for 33) and scored 13 runs over his final seven games. Gonzales led all Pirates minor leaguers in extra-base hits (49) this season and finished in the top five in batting average (.281), slugging percentage (.507), OPS (.886) and total bases (191).
Williams, acquired from Tampa Bay for reliever Robert Stephenson in June, batted .198/.270/.248 with five doubles and six RBIs in 46 games for the Pirates this season while starting 33 games at shortstop.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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