The Pittsburgh Pirates today acquired in elder Erik González along with right-handed pitchers Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for out elder Jordan Luplow and in elder Max Moroff. The announcement was made by Executive Vice President, General Manager Neal Huntington.
The 27-year-old González spent the 2018 season with the Indians and hit .265 (36-for-136) in 81 games. He made 30 appearances at second base, 20 at third base and 16 at shortstop while producing a .304 batting average against right-handed pitchers.
"Erik Gonzalez is an athletic middle in elder who plays solid defense and has the potential to be a productive hitter at the major league level," said Huntington. "He gives us another quality option to play shortstop or in the middle of our in eld this year and into the future."
González was originally signed by the Indians as a non-drafted free agent on 8/26/08 and spent all 10 of his professional seasons in the Cleveland organization. He made his Major League debut in 2016, during which he hit .313 in 21 games with the Indians.
González was a Triple-A All-Star with Columbus in 2016 and was named an organizational All-Star by MiLB.com four straight seasons (2013-16). He was also listed by Baseball America as having the "Best In eld Arm" in the Cleveland organization for three seasons (2014-15, 2017).
Thomas was originally signed by the Indians as a non-drafted free agent out of the Bahamas on December 5, 2016. The 19-year-old made his professional debut in 2017 while making a combined 16 appearances (13 starts) between the Arizona League Indians and the Dominican Summer League Indians.
This past season, Thomas posted a 4.58 ERA (19.2ip/10er), 27 strikeouts and a .188 batting average against while spending the entire season pitching for the Arizona League Indians 1 team.
"Tahnaj Thomas is a recently converted in elder who possesses a quality frame, athleticism, a clean delivery and arm strength to create a high-ceilinged prospect," said Huntington.
Mendoza was selected by the Indians in the 12th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Torrance (CA) High School. He made three appearances (two starts) during his rst professional season with the Arizona League Indians in 2017. This past season, Mendoza went 2-2 with a 4.58 ERA (37.1ip/19er) and 37 strikeouts in 10 appearances (three starts) with the Arizona League Indians 1 team.
"Dante Mendoza is a pitching prospect who brings many of the traits we like in young pitchers, while adding to the depth of pitching prospects with upside in our system," said Huntington.