Let’s just say we saw this one coming. Gonzales is expected to miss a significant portion of next season after undergoing flexor tendon surgery on his left elbow back in late August. The 32-year-old southpaw will head to free agency after making just seven starts in his lone season with the Pirates.

It’s a brutal blow for the veteran who was injured in early August. He has battled forearm/elbow injuries over the last few years and will face an extended recovery as he tries to make his way back in 2025 in what will be his age-33 season.

This is part of a constant string of forearm issues for Gonzales the last two years, and he’ll miss the rest of the regular season. Jake Woodford is in the rotation for now, and the Pirates may also want to take a look at Domingo Germán there. Trading away Martín Pérez, Quinn Priester and JT Brubaker has taken a toll on their pitching depth.

The 32-year-old southpaw walked two batters and struck out three on the night. Nearly all of the damage done against him came via the long ball, with Jackson Merrill launching a solo shot in the second and Kyle Higashioka adding a three-run blast in the fourth. Gonzales got just seven swings and misses on 91 pitches on the night, posting an underwhelming CSW of 23 percent. He’ll try to improve upon his 4.54 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 23/11 K/BB ratio (33 2/3 innings) when he squares off against these same Padres in San Diego on Monday.