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Thompson excited about Gonzalez return for Tigers

Jason Caldwell

3–4 minutes

AUBURN, Alabama—Friday was a big day in the return of Auburn redshirt junior RHP Joseph Gonzalez following a shoulder injury that ended his 2023 season after just a few innings last February when he got back on the mound in a scrimmage setting for the first time in nearly a year. 

After having surgery to clean up some issues in his shoulder that had been bothering him since his high school days in Puerto Rico, Gonzalez has been on the road to recovery since that day that has seen him put in plenty of extra work to be prepared to pitch in 2024.

“You never know, but I think he’s going to be really, really healthy, healthier than he’s been in a long time with some of these things nagging since high school in the same spot,” coach Butch Thompson said. “I think he’s healthier than he’s been in a long time. We’ll cautiously bring him along. His body has never looked better. He’s absolutely worked his body in a better place, so that adds value to him. There’s a look in his eye like I have never seen before. I gravitate to him. It’s exciting to see that light switch go on and him be hungry. It’s pretty exciting.”

The road to recovery really got started when Thompson brought on former MLB pitcher and minor league pitching director Everett Teaford to be Auburn’s pitching coach last summer. When Gonzalez decided to return to the Tigers, they put together a plan that saw the big righty begin his rehab with the plans to throw throughout the holidays and ramp up to the season.

After throwing to hitters three different times in the last two weeks in short stints, on Friday Gonzalez pitched in a live game setting for the first time since last year’s season opener. Throwing 40 pitches in nearly three innings of work, he allowed four runs in the first frame but settled in to throw much better in innings two and three. 

It was just the first step of a process that Thompson said will take some time as Gonzalez gets back into the swing of things on the mound.

“Our biggest challenge, and it may be a challenge, is he’s throwing noticeably harder,” Thompson said. “His calling card of identity was a true sinker. I feel like the industry may be working back to that where it can play more than maybe it did when we played all this vertical stuff. It’s not sinking as much and he’s throwing a lot harder. Is the ball going to be elevated more and not sink as much because he’s throwing harder? Is this a new identity? 

“Will he settle back and it start sinking again with the more pitches that he throws or is he going to be in an identity crisis? I think that’s the first thing I’m looking at now because he’s come back healthier. I’m excited about him. I’m excited about where he’s at, but those are the things we need to tweak and look at to see if this is great or concerning. Have we gotten away from identity and do we get back to it, or are we marching towards a potential new identity. That’s the biggest thing with Joseph right now.”

Making 20 starts and 37 appearances in three years, Gonzalez heads into the 2024 season with a record of 10-7 and an ERA of 4.07 in 125.2 innings. 

Edited January 29 by aubiefifty