Some players let you tell a fairly cohesive story about them. Marco Gonzales is not that player. The 25-year-old has never pitched more than 70 innings at one level as a pro, thanks to injuries and a fairly unconventional developmental path in the Cardinals’ system that’s seen him jerked across levels for years. Mariners fans have been anxious to evaluate the O’Neill-Gonzales trade, which is understandable; O’Neill represented the Mariners’ shiniest trade chip, and people want to know if we got a fair return, insomuch as one can evaluate a prospect-for-prospect swap. But since Gonzales lost his entire 2016 season to TJ and a shoulder injury kept him from pitching extensively before that, and the Cardinals bounced him between levels like Q*Bert, we’re left with bits and pieces of a baseball career to try to puzzle together.
It’s too early to talk about Marco Gonzales but let’s do it anyway
