With the five-player trade yesterday between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians, it added a new player to our winter coverage. Erik Gonzalez is going to be a player of interest going into 2019, as someone with MLB experience, who can handle shortstop defensively well enough to play full-time. The question is whether his bat will allow him to play regularly. He didn’t get a lot of at-bats during the regular season, so the regular playing time in the Dominican could help him prepare for a bigger role next season.
Gonzalez is playing for Leones del Escogido, where he hit lead-off and played shortstop last night. He went 1-for-4 with a single, giving him a .314 average through his first 13 games. The hit extended his hitting streak to seven games. Somewhat surprisingly, he has already committed five errors this winter. Gonzalez has played third base 11 times and shortstop twice, with all five of his errors coming at third base.
Jesus Liranzo allowed a run on one hit in his only inning of work last night. After starting the winter off strong, he has allowed runs in each of his last three appearances. He has a 3.21 ERA in 14 innings, with a 16:4 SO/BB ratio.
In Colombia, 18-year-old shortstop Francisco Acuna went 1-for-4 with a single. Through 28 plate appearances, he has a .269/.345/.269 slash line.
