Pirates reinstate INF Nick Gonzales from IL, recall RHP Kyle Nicolas from Triple-A
The Pittsburgh Pirates ended the rehabilitation assignment of infielder Nick Gonzales and activated him from the 60-day injured list Tuesday, the club announced.
To make room for Gonazles on the 26- and 40-man rosters, infielder Nick Solak had his contract assigned outright to Triple-A Indianapolis.
In addition, reliever Kyle Nicolas was recalled from Triple-A.
Gonzales, 26, suffered a left ankle fracture March 27 in the Pirates’ season-opener and has been sidelined since.
Assigned to Triple-A for a rehab assignment in mid-May, he slashed .194/.211/.250 over nine games and 23 at-bats, with one triple, one RBI and 11 strikeouts.
Following a promising 2024 campaign, in which he batted .270 with seven homers and 49 RBIs in 94 games, Gonzales ended spring training projected to serve as the Pirates’ starting second baseman, not to mention a key presence in the batting order.
He was the Pirates’ first-round (No. 7 overall) draft pick in 2020 out of New Mexico State and made his debut June 23, 2023.
The 26-year-old Nicolas rejoins the big-league club for the first time since being sent down to Triple-A at the start of May.
With the Pirates this year, he struggled, posting a 10.57 ERA in seven games (7 2/3 innings), striking out six with eight walks.
His performance in 2025 was a far cry from the prior year, when he enjoyed a breakout campaign in his first taste of extended MLB action, going 2-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 51 games, flashing a four-seam fastball in the upper-90s.
At Triple-A, Nicolas went 1-0 with a 4.40 ERA, striking out 25 with 10 walks over 14 1/3 innings.
However, eight of his last nine outings with the Indians leading into Tuesday’s recall were scoreless affairs.
As for Solak, his assignment back to Triple-A seemed written on the wall over the past few weeks as the result of the emergence of Alexander Canario as an everyday outfielder and first baseman Spencer Horwitz’s return from the injured list.
Gonzales being available at second base further blocked Solak’s path to the field.
While he was one of the hottest hitters in all of Triple-A, batting .393 when the Pirates called him up May 16, Solak hit only .091 with Pittsburgh.
Granted, he was given only four starts and 11 at-bats. His last start came May 19, and May 28 marked his most recent game action, a pinch-hit appearance on the road at Arizona.
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.