The Pittsburgh Pirates have a new second baseman, which raises the question of what will happen to the incumbent at that position.

Nick Gonzales has been the Pirates’ primary second baseman each of the last two seasons. While he hasn’t performed well, the 26-year-old has shown flashes of being a potentially good major-league player. Gonzales also has the pedigree of being the Pirates’ first-round pick in the 2020 amateur draft.

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However, the Pirates traded with the Tampa Bay Rays for second baseman Brandon Lowe on Friday following a season in which he was selected to the All-Star Game for the second time in his eight-year career. The 31-year-old hit 31 home runs this year.

Gonzales can’t match Lowe’s resume, though. His career slash line is .257/.300/.375 with 14 homers in 225 games over three seasons.

So, where does Gonzales fit with the Pirates following the acquisition of Lowe? It is a question that Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said on Saturday can’t be answered immediately.

Yeah, good question. I think it’s an important question,” Cherington said. “See him having a really important role on the team. Nick is an important player for us. Think he does some things offensively that are unique and believe fit well with our group. Aggressive making contact. He works his tail off. He’s worked his tail off to become a really good and versatile defensive player.

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“And the biggest thing about Nick, we can go back to his amateur days in the draft, he’s just always met the challenge in front of him. So, we acquired a player who we believe in, who we expect to play some second base, in Brandon Lowe. This is an opportunity for Nick to continue to push for an opportunity on the major league team. We believe that’s kind of what he’s always done and can see him doing that in any number of ways.”

Gonzales would likely be the starting shortstop given the current roster. However, Jared Triolo could move to shortstop if the Pirates acquire a third baseman. Konnor Griffin, the top prospect in baseball, might be the opening-day shortstop and will almost certainly make his MLB debut at some point next season.

Considering he had minus-11 defensive runs saved at second base this year, it is hard to imagine Gonzales making a smooth transition to playing a more difficult position.

“Honestly, we don’t know what the opening day alignment is going to look like,” Cherington said. “The conversations we’ve had recently and even (Friday) were really about training in the offseason and where guys should be getting their reps. Nick Gonzales was already doing his reps at second and short. I see no reason for that to change. He’s proven he can play both spots.

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“(Triolo’s) going to get his work everywhere – second, short, and third. We obviously have a ton of confidence in Tree on the left side of the infield, whether that’s short or third. Don’t know yet enough about what the rest of the roster looks like to know exactly what roles those guys will fall into, but confidence that both Tree and Nick can and will play important roles on the team.”