At this point in his career, Liover Peguero knows he needs to be ready for whatever opportunity that may present itself. He's played middle infield for a majority of his career, but the 24-year-old told me today that he's started to work on expanding his defensive versatility.
"I was working in the outfield, third base, first base, just in case because you never know," Peguero said. "That’s one thing I always have in mind is we never know and at the end of the day all we want to do is help the team to win."
Position versatility is one thing that the Pirates have an abundance of. If one looks at the current infielders on the 40-man roster, at least six of them are capable of playing multiple positions, not that they will consistently, but they've shown the ability too.
Peguero is trying to join that group and increase his chances of making it back to the major leagues this season. He's had two separate stints with the Pirates so far, getting called up for 59 games in 2023 -- he played both shortstop and second -- and then again at the end of last year when he started three games at shortstop.
Derek Shelton commended Peguero today for how far he's come defensively, but added that working to expand his defensive versatility is important.
"Yeah, we're going to get a good look at him at short. But, he needs to be able to play the other positions in the infield," Shelton said. " ... He needs to be able to bounce in the infield. Peggy did a really good job last year. He was probably, defensively, took as much strides forward as anybody we have in the minor leagues, which is really encouraging because it's such a premier position."
Peguero was working in the outfield with Josh Palacios today for a short period of time, but Shelton said he was just working on his glove work. Here's a quick look at that:
Peguero told me that he hasn't played third or first base in any official games throughout his career and hasn't any official conversations with the organization about getting experience elsewhere but wanted to get himself familiarized. He said at some point he'll ask Ke'Bryan Hayes and other teammates for advice but is just focused on the basics right now.
"I’ve just been getting some practice time at each position and just getting used to those things," Peguero said.
All of this points toward trying to make himself as valuable as possible when it comes to reaching the major-league level and staying there. That also includes working on his approach at the plate. During his last extended stint, he hit .237/.280/.379 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs, but struck out 67 times and had an OPS+ of 75.
Being able to play multiple positions would adds value as Shelton could move him around the infield if injuries pop up, as they often do. So, Peguero just wants to be ready when the time comes.
"Those are things that happen, those are things that I can’t control and I looked at it as a challenge, let’s just keep working, let’s keep improving, and whatever happens, happens," Peguero said. "At the end of the day, I gotta control what I can control and it’s just play hard."
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Peguero expanding his versatility
At this point in his career, Liover Peguero knows he needs to be ready for whatever opportunity that may present itself. He's played middle infield for a majority of his career, but the 24-year-old told me today that he's started to work on expanding his defensive versatility.
"I was working in the outfield, third base, first base, just in case because you never know," Peguero said. "That’s one thing I always have in mind is we never know and at the end of the day all we want to do is help the team to win."
Position versatility is one thing that the Pirates have an abundance of. If one looks at the current infielders on the 40-man roster, at least six of them are capable of playing multiple positions, not that they will consistently, but they've shown the ability too.
Peguero is trying to join that group and increase his chances of making it back to the major leagues this season. He's had two separate stints with the Pirates so far, getting called up for 59 games in 2023 -- he played both shortstop and second -- and then again at the end of last year when he started three games at shortstop.
Derek Shelton commended Peguero today for how far he's come defensively, but added that working to expand his defensive versatility is important.
"Yeah, we're going to get a good look at him at short. But, he needs to be able to play the other positions in the infield," Shelton said. " ... He needs to be able to bounce in the infield. Peggy did a really good job last year. He was probably, defensively, took as much strides forward as anybody we have in the minor leagues, which is really encouraging because it's such a premier position."
Peguero was working in the outfield with Josh Palacios today for a short period of time, but Shelton said he was just working on his glove work. Here's a quick look at that:
Peguero told me that he hasn't played third or first base in any official games throughout his career and hasn't any official conversations with the organization about getting experience elsewhere but wanted to get himself familiarized. He said at some point he'll ask Ke'Bryan Hayes and other teammates for advice but is just focused on the basics right now.
"I’ve just been getting some practice time at each position and just getting used to those things," Peguero said.
All of this points toward trying to make himself as valuable as possible when it comes to reaching the major-league level and staying there. That also includes working on his approach at the plate. During his last extended stint, he hit .237/.280/.379 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs, but struck out 67 times and had an OPS+ of 75.
Being able to play multiple positions would adds value as Shelton could move him around the infield if injuries pop up, as they often do. So, Peguero just wants to be ready when the time comes.
"Those are things that happen, those are things that I can’t control and I looked at it as a challenge, let’s just keep working, let’s keep improving, and whatever happens, happens," Peguero said. "At the end of the day, I gotta control what I can control and it’s just play hard."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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