In this series, I look at one player per year from 1991-the present who came out of nowhere or had a great year that no one really noticed or expected.
I wrestled with this choice for a little while. I was originally going to pick Carlos Narvaez, but I did discuss his year a little bit in the Season in Review post. Ultimately, what clinched this for Romy was the fact that he had been placed on release waivers by the White Sox the previous year. The WHITE SOX. The team that finished 61-101 in 2023 and would go on to go 41-121 in 2024 after releasing Gonzalez. That team thought he was not good enough to stay on their team.
Gonzalez had a nice 2024 season with the Red Sox, but he was really good in 2025. The utility man split most of his time between first and second base, but also played some third and DH as well. He made it into 96 games with 341 plate appearances and had the highest batting average on the team. That still means something to me. He hit .305/.343/.483, scoring 47 runs and knocking 23 doubles, three triples and nine home runs. He also had 53 RBIs and stole six bases.
When the Red Sox had to face left-handed pitching, they had a big advantage by plugging Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder into the lineup. Gonzalez hit .331/.378/.600 with seven of his home runs against southpaws.
Gonzalez is exactly the kind of player it is very helpful to have as a role player. He can play a variety of positions and he is great against left-handed pitching. He is a proven contact hitter and even has good speed. He's not going to blow you away, but he does a lot of little things that help win ball games.
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