Rangers Sign Former Mariners Starter as Familiar Trend Continues

Marco Gonzales getting another shot, this time with a division rival.

Apr 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Marco Gonzales (27) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers are continuing to fill out their organization with former Mariners. Earlier this month it was Jarred Kelenic, and this time they’ve added Marco Gonzales into the fold. The Rangers signed the veteran lefty to a minor league deal after he was released by the Padres, giving him another shot to keep his career moving through Triple-A Round Rock.

It’s an interesting move, and probably a little weird. Gonzales hasn’t been great so far this season, posting a 7.99 ERA with 36 strikeouts over 47 1/3 innings. The strikeout total is actually decent, but the rest of the numbers suggest he’s been getting hit hard when he’s not missing bats.

Before Seattle’s current rotation became one of the organization’s clearest strengths, Gonzales was the guy taking the ball every fifth day and bringing stability to the rotation.

Marco Gonzales Once Represented Stability for the Mariners

There was a time when Gonzales was the rotation’s grown-up in the room. That gets lost a little now because the Mariners have become a pitching development machine. In 2019, he won 16 games, made 34 starts and threw 203 innings for a Mariners team that badly needed a dependable arm. He did it again in 2020. A shortened season that saw him post a 7-2 record. A 3.10 ERA. Elite strikeout-to-walk control.

His command was his calling card. And the Mariners continued to dedicate themselves to growing their rotation around arms that lived in the strike zone. 

Gonzales hit the IL in 2023 with a left forearm strain that eventually ran into more complications and led to surgery. But that June injury also opened the door for Bryan Woo’s call-up.

Woo clearly had more velocity and a more interesting pitch mix. Nobody would confuse the two on pure stuff. But Woo came in carrying that same bulldog mentality that made Gonzales such a steady presence in Seattle’s rotation. Even with Woo stumbling a bit as a rookie, it would be hard to argue the M’s didn’t come away with a major upgrade. By the offseason, Gonzales had been traded to the Atlanta Braves.

He has already made one start for Triple-A Round Rock, throwing four innings while allowing six hits, three earned runs and striking out two. The Rangers are cycling through rotation depth right now, so there’s nothing wrong with them seeing what they have with Gonzales. And because he’s a lefty, there’s a bit of a strange window where, if he figures it out and Texas needs him, he could get a shot against the Mariners this season.

That would be oddly fitting. The Mariners have spent plenty of time proving they still need to be better against left-handed pitching. Gonzales returning in a Rangers uniform would turn that into an interesting situation.