Braves quickly ship pitcher Marco Gonzales to Pirates

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Braves on Sunday acquired Marco Gonzales.

On Tuesday, they traded him to the Pirates. The Braves, who also sent cash to Pittsburgh, will receive a player to be named later.

Gonzales, who in recent months had surgery to decompress a nerve in his left forearm, didn’t seem like much of a fit for the Braves. Atlanta made that trade for outfielder Jarred Kelenic, and it’s likely the Braves had to take on the contracts of Gonzales and Evan White for Kelenic’s upside.

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Gonzales is due $12.25 million in 2024. He has a $15 million club option for 2025.

In the trade with the Mariners, Seattle will send Atlanta $4.5 million on Aug. 1, which helps the Braves offset the cost of Gonzales. The Braves sent Pittsburgh cash to do the same.

Gonzales had a 5.22 ERA over 10 starts in 2023. Over a career that began in 2014, Gonzales has a 4.14 ERA over 893 innings.

On Sunday, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said the club is satisfied with its left-field options after acquiring Kelenic. Vaughn Grissom is the other in-house candidate for that job. On Tuesday, Anthopoulos reiterated that the Braves have their starting outfield set.

Two days after making the trade with the Mariners, Anthopoulos flipped Gonzales to Pittsburgh.

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