The Mariners added to their stable of young, controllable starting pitchers in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Seattle acquired left-handed starter Marco Gonzales from the Cardinals in exchange for AAA outfielder Tyler O’Neill. Gonzales, 25, has appeared in parts of 3 Major League seasons with the Cardinals and remains under club control through the 2023 season.

“Marco is a quality athlete with high character and a strong pitching pedigree who we feel fits our roster well in both the near and long term,” said Dipoto. “We find his current performance, preparedness and proximity to the Major Leagues to be very appealing traits in a pitcher, particularly a young lefty who is now under club control through the 2023 season.”

He has made appearances with the Cardinals, AAA Memphis and advanced-A Palm Beach this season. In 11 starts at AAA, he is 6–4 with a 2.90 ERA (22 ER, 68.1 IP) with 57 strikeouts and 17 walks. Since June 18, he is 5–1 with a 2.61 ERA (11 ER, 38.0 IP) with 33 strikeouts and 8 walks in 6 starts with Memphis.

The 6-foot, 199-pound lefty has twice been listed by Baseball America as having the “best changeup” in the Cardinals organization (2013 and 2014). In 2014, he was named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

Gonzales, who resides in Seattle in the off-season, was drafted by St. Louis in the 1st round (19th overall) of the 2013 Draft out of Gonzaga University, becoming the highest draft pick in the history of the Bulldogs baseball program. He shared West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year honors with the Cubs’ Kris Bryant (University of San Diego) as a freshman in 2011 and as a junior in 2013.

Draft and Development

In 3 seasons at Gonzaga (2011–13), the native of Fort Collins, Colo., compiled a record of 26–7 with a 2.34 ERA while recording 9 complete games and 4 shutouts. He tallied 278 strikeouts over 303.2 innings pitched. Gonzales was teammates with Mariners minor league pitcher Cody Martin in 2011.

He went 7–3 with a 2.80 ERA and 2 shutouts on the mound and batted .311 with 2 home runs and 26 RBI in 2013, earning John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year honors as well as the WCC Co-Player of the Year award for the 2nd time in his career.

After being selected 19th overall in the 2013 Draft, Gonzales told GoZags.com, “I’m very honored and very thankful. It is hard to put into words. It is a culmination of a lot of work put in, a lot of dedication of my family, friends, teammates and coaches believing in me. I just can’t say thank you enough to all those who put time and effort to get me on the field and to get me to practice and road trips, the miles put in means the world to me.”

Shortly after being drafted, Gonzales began his professional career, splitting the remainder of the 2013 season between the Gulf Coast League Cardinals and the Palm Beach Cardinals. His first full pro season came in 2014 when he played at four different levels in the Cardinals’ organization, starting with advanced-A Palm Beach and AA Springfield before making his Major League debut with St. Louis and eventually pitching for AAA Memphis.

On June 25, 2014 in front of a hometown crowd at Coors Field in Denver, he made his Major League debut against the Rockies at the age of 22. It had been just over a year since he had his name called in the Draft. He took a no decision, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits while walking 2 and striking out 3 over 5.0 innings of work. In his first Major League plate appearance, he hit a leadoff double and eventually scored. After making 2 more starts with the big league club, he was optioned to AAA.

Gonzales returned to the Cardinals for the stretch run, making 2 starts and 5 appearances out of the bullpen from Aug. 30 through the end of the regular season. He went 4–0 with a 2.18 ERA while striking out 21 and walking 10 to help the club go 19–11 over its final 30 games and clinch the NL Central Division title.

He earned his first Major League win on Aug. 30 in the second game of a doubleheader vs. the Cubs, allowing 1 run on 3 hits with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks in 6.0 innings pitched. He added a single at the plate for good measure.

Between all four stops in 2014, he went a combined 13–7 with a 2.81 ERA (49 ER, 156.2 IP) with 148 strikeouts and 48 walks in 31 games (26 starts), earning Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors.

Postseason Heroics

Gonzales was one of the final additions to the Cardinals postseason roster in 2014, but he was instrumental to their success that October.

“As far as the last spot in the bullpen, just trying to make sure that we’re covered,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said in 2014. “What Marco Gonzales has been able to do as a young player has been very impressive, how he can fill a couple different roles. We gave him some tests through September, putting him in late, putting him in against heavy left-handed lineups and letting him stay in against tough righties. We like what he’s done. He also gives us the flexibility to go multiple innings if we need somebody to go for an extended period of time. He’s done everything he can to take advantage of that opportunity. Excited to watch him go out there and compete at this stage.”

He did more than just competing. He held the Dodgers scoreless over 3 separate relief appearances and picked up 2 wins. In Game 1, he retired the Dodgers 4–5–6 hitters in order before St. Louis exploded for an 8-run 7th inning. The next day, he struck out 2-of-the-3 batters he faced in a scoreless 7th inning. Pitching for 3rd time in 5 days, he worked around a walk and a base hit in the 7th before the Cardinals battled back to give Gonzales the win. In the process, he became the 4th rookie in postseason history to earn 2 wins in the Division Series.

‘15 and ‘16 Recap

Gonzales dealt with injuries for most of 2015 and 2016, combining to make 19 starts with the Cardinals, Memphis, Palm Beach and Springfield over those 2 seasons. He missed time in 2015 with a left pectoral muscle issue and sat out the entire 2016 season after undergoing ligament replacement surgery on his left elbow on April 15, 2016. In 2015, he was rated by Baseball America as the 16th-best prospect in the Pacific Coast League and the 5th-best prospect in the Cardinals organization.