Liover Peguero has been recalled to the Pirates and Hunter Stratton has been optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis, the team announced this morning. Derek Shelton said this afternoon that Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been dealing with a lower-body issue over the last two days and they felt they needed a back-up shortstop in his absence.

"We just wanted to make sure that we had a situation where we had another shortstop here right now," Shelton said. "We knew (Stratton) was not going to be available today, so we just wanted to make sure that we're protected."

In regards to Kiner-Falefa, Shelton said the veteran shortstop came out of Wednesday's game and wanted to give him a rest day yesterday to see how it responded coming into today.

"Just figured it was better to give him another day," Shelton said. "Not having another shortstop here was a little concerning to us. So we just made sure that we are functionally able to fill that."

This is the second time this season that the Pirates have promoted a middle infielder with Tsung-Che Cheng being called up on April 7 and sent back down on April 16. At that point, Jared Triolo (lower back) was placed on the IL and they needed a backup shortstop.

I asked Shelton this afternoon, what happens during the decision-making process that determines who gets called up. Why call up Peguero now and Cheng, a player who had only played 11 games at Class AAA Indianapolis at the point, the first time around.

"There's a lot of conversations that happen between Ben (Cherington) and Michael Chernow, who is our farm director, and then with (Indianapolis manager) Chris Truby and the staff in Indy," Shelton said. "Then, it's ultimately who we feel the best fit is. But there is inputs from the guys who are with them day-to-day in terms of like 'Hey, we feel like this is a good fit.' We look at our schedule, who we're playing, what we need. I think there's a ton of factors that go into that." 

Peguero has played in 24 games with the Indians this season, slashing .258/.309/.382 with a .691 OPS, one home run, six doubles, 12 RBIs and 12 runs scored. He played in 59 games with the Pirates in 2023, hitting .237 with a .654 OPS, seven home runs and 26 RBIs. Last season, Peguero had a short three-game stint in the big leagues where he went 2 for 10 with a double, two RBIs and three strikeouts. 

Triolo played shortstop last night in Kiner-Falefa's absence and is set to start there again tonight. He turned in a solid defensive performance, has played their twice this season and also spent time at the position during spring training. He is hitting .163/.196/.209 with a .405 OPS in 43 at-bats, has played four different positions and also can play the outfield if needed.

"I think he does a really good job at short. I mean, there's really no place on the field that I feel uncomfortable with (Triolo) defensively," Shelton said. "Not catching, I've never seen him catch. But even in the outfield, we saw him play a little outfield last year, he played in the outfield during spring training. He's just a really good defender. So, I'm comfortable with him there."

Stratton heads back down after being recalled earlier this week when Dennis Santana was placed on the bereavement list. Stratton made two appearances during the series against the Cubs and experienced his share of struggles, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Those two outings were Stratton's first in the big leagues since undergoing knee surgery in August.