With 17 games left in the season, the Pirates should fully turn their attention to playing young players, something they should have done three weeks ago.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have made a few puzzling moves and decisions during their landslide collapse in the National League standings.
From continuing to trust Colin Holderman and David Bednar to pulling Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan Reynolds before their next at-bats during a no-hitter, the finger can be pointed in a multitude of directions.
Another surrounds promotions, or lack thereof, regarding young players who could impact the Major League club in 2025. The Pirates promoted infielder/outfielder Billy Cook over the weekend, and he immediately made an impact. Cook finished the day 2-for-4 with two RBIs and strong defensive play at first base. Despite a good day, the Pirates benched Cook the following game. It’s not something to get the pitchforks out for, but it’s a questionable call.
It’s beyond time that infielder Liover Pegero returns to Pittsburgh. Once thought of as a top prospect and future cornerstone in the middle infield, Peguero has lingered in Triple-A Indianapolis for the past two seasons and seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Pirates have a plethora of infielders, including Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, Alika Williams, Ke’Bryan Hayes, and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa in the fold. Moving Oneil Cruz to center field made a crowded field a little less congested.
Peguero is slashing .258/.322/.416 with a .738 OPS in 457 at-bats in Triple-A. Still only 23, Peguero was acquired after the 2019 season from Arizona in the Starling Marte deal, Ben Cherington’s first trade as General Manager. He’s playing one of his best seasons to date at the plate and owns career highs in doubles (27), RBIs (75), and walks (44) through 120 games. Peguero had a cup of coffee in Pittsburgh for one game in 2023 before an extended audition midway through last season. The Pirates social media team hyped him up to be thought of as the starter at second base, a job he lost to Triolo.
The journey to the Show is unique, but they all have something in common. Every journey starts with a kid and a dream.
Liover Peguero sat down to relive some of the moments from 2023 that he’ll never forget. pic.twitter.com/V8ZyTwlBF8
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) November 23, 2023
Bouncing between second and short, Peguero recorded 646 innings spanning 78 games at shortstop this year and 403 career minor league appearances at the position. His defense isn’t a strong suit, committing nine errors to earn a .970 fielding percentage, but a stark contrast to Cruz’s excellent offensive update accompanied by 24 errors and a .939 clip.
It’s a similar conversation surrounding Russell Wilson and Justin Fields further down the North Shore with the Steelers. You want to see what you have in your organization. Could he help your current club while also being a part of the future? Continuing to pencil Williams and Triolo into the starting lineup and not calling up Peguero doesn’t make sense. The Pirates could have called him up when rosters expanded in September, instead, they opted to keep now DFA’d Billy McKinney and retain Michael A. Taylor on the roster. Not much to cheer about.
Termarr Johnson is waiting in the wings at Double-A Altoona and will soon factor into the big-league infield. What does keeping Peguero in Triple-A teach him? Derek Shelton previously said Peguero was in-between and needed to work on things when asked if the complexion of position players would change.
Peguero isn’t Jackson Holiday. He isn’t Junior Caminero. But he also hasn’t cracked the Majors since last season and deserves a chance to become the everyday shortstop. Kiner-Falefa is more sooted for a utility role similar to Josh Harrison. A sparkplug off the bench, capable of changing a game and starting a few times a week. When Harrison became a full-time player, things changed. Sometimes, it’s good to have those guys in spurts. Peguero’s offensive production is better than Triolo and Williams, who are career backups and utility players. Shouldn’t we find out if that’s the case with Peguero when your shortstop is learning center field and out of a pennant race?
The whole thing is confusing to me, and it doesn’t make sense why the Pirates are as loyal as they are to playing those two. There’s nothing more I need to see from Rowdy Tellez and Yasmani Grandal. Cook should play everyday at first and both Joey Bart and Henry Davis (when healthy) catching. I understand Paul Skenes likes Grandal, but he’s going to be throwing to Bart and Davis next season, so why not start now like they did with Cruz?
Call up Peguero. It doesn’t move the needle on the rest of the season, but provides a thread in the final 15 games that can be weaved into the 2025 equation or finalize the need to at a shortstop in the offseason.