Pirates' Liover Peguero: Smacks three homers in loss
Rotowire
Peguero went 3-for-5 with three home runs and five RBI during Saturday's 8-5 loss to the Rockies.
Peguero supplied all of the runs for the Pirates on Saturday, and he did so in a big way. He followed up a leadoff homer with a a three-run blast to left field in the fifth to give Pittsburgh a 4-0 lead, and he capped off his big night with a solo shot with two outs in the ninth. Peguero extended his hitting streak to five games, during which he's gone 7-for-19 (.368) with one steal, four long balls and seven RBI. Though he lacks a direct path to an everyday role at the moment, Peguero is capable of playing all over the infield and could earn steadier at-bats as a result of Saturday's breakout performance.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Clubs homer
Rotowire
Peguero went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Giants.
Peguero tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth inning and added another RBI with a groundout in the eighth. The long ball was his first in the majors since the 2023 campaign, though he's hit a combined 18 homers over 200 games with Triple-A Indianapolis in 2024 and 2025. In the majors this year, he is batting .263 with a 1:5 BB:K across 21 plate appearances. He's made starts at first base, second base and shortstop over the last four games and appears to be a reserve utility infielder at this time.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Call-up expected
Rotowire
Peguero has a spot in the Pirates' locker room and is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday. Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
The Pirates traded Adam Frazier to Kansas City for Cam Devanney, who was immediately optioned to Triple-A, leaving an open spot on the 26-man roster. Peguero has played all four infield positions plus center field at Triple-A this season. However, he played only second base and shortstop in a brief stint with Pittsburgh earlier this year. With Frazier out of the picture, Peguero's easiest path to playing time will come in the middle infield.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Headed back to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Pirates optioned Peguero to Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday.
He'll give up his spot on the Pirates' 26-man roster to infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa (hamstring), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. After being called up from Triple-A on May 2, Peguero appeared in four games for Pittsburgh and went 2-for-9 with three strikeouts.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: First start since recall
Rotowire
Peguero went 1-for-3 against the Cardinals on Tuesday.
Peguero was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday but had not appeared in a game in any capacity until Tuesday. He's likely to continue to back up Adam Frazier and Jared Triolo at second base and shortstop, respectively.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Among six optioned Tuesday
Rotowire
The Pirates optioned Peguero to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.
Peguero had been among the field battling for a spot on the Pirates' bench to begin the regular season, but going 2-for-15 with a home run in 10 games won't be enough to crack the Opening Day roster. Until the 24-year-old's bat improves, he's likely destined to spend most of his time in Triple-A, though he may be promoted throughout the season to provide Pittsburgh with some fresh legs off the bench.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Returns to lineup
Rotowire
Peguero (illness) is starting at second base in Thursday's spring game against Toronto.
Peguero has been out of action since March 13 due to a virus, but his illness appears to have subsided ahead of Thursday's contest. Peguero went 7-for-24 with a homer and three RBI during Grapefruit League play before getting sick, and he remains the favorite to start at second base on Opening Day.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Recovering from virus
Rotowire
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Monday that Peguero hasn't been featured in the Grapefruit League lineup since last Wednesday while he recovers from a virus, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
A bug seems to be making its way around the Pirates' spring facility in Bradenton, Fla., as Shelton also noted that reliever Colin Holderman hasn't been available since last Tuesday due to an illness. Peguero had already compiled 24 at-bats in Grapefruit League action before his recent absence, so assuming he's able to get back in action before the Pirates' spring schedule comes to a close March 25, his availability for Opening Day shouldn't be in question. The 23-year-old is likely to begin the season as the Pirates' everyday second baseman.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Steals sixth base
Rotowire
Peguero went 2-for-4 with a steal in Friday's loss against the Marlins.
Peguero secured his sixth stolen base of the season when he swiped second in the fourth inning. The rookie infielder has managed 27 steals in 2023, including 21 during two minor-leagues stops prior to his promotion. Peguero's performance this season has been mediocre outside of the speed as he is slashing .230/.271/.364 over his first 56 big-league games.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Tallies three hits, homer
Rotowire
Peguero went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 6-3 victory over the Royals.
Peguero swatted his sixth home run of 2023 on Tuesday, driving in Endy Rodriguez and Josh Palacios on a three-run shot off Steven Cruz in the ninth inning. In the three games prior to Tuesday's outburst, Peguero was 0-for-9 with six strikeouts, and the home run was his first since Aug. 15. On the season, Peguero is slashing .248/.300/.446 across 112 plate appearances, and he's stolen four bases.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Swipes fourth bag
Rotowire
Peguero went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored Wednesday against the Cardinals.
Peguero has experienced some of the ups and downs expected of rookies, as he entered Wednesday's game with only two hits across his prior 17 at-bats. He broke out of that slump with the seventh multi-hit performance in 28 big-league games so far this season. Peguero has seen the majority of his playing time at second base, and that role should be more secure moving forward with Oneil Cruz's (ankle) return in doubt.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Carving out consistent role
Rotowire
Peguero went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run Tuesday against the Tigers.
Peguero has started seven of Pittsburgh's last nine games, five of which have come at shortstop. Of late, he's started primarily at second base, however, with Alika Williams getting a look at shortstop. Peguero had an inconsistent production profile while rising through the minors, but he's taken advantage of his opportunities in Pittsburgh to this point by slugging three homers, driving in eight and scoring four runs across 24 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Second career homer
Rotowire
Peguero went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBI on Saturday against the Phillies.
Peguero has been pushed out of playing time in the middle infield in recent days with Nick Gonzales serving as the primary starter at second base and Alika Williams at shortstop. However, Peguero made the case for more playing time by hitting his second big-league homer and also rolling an RBI single through the right side of the infield. He has multiple hits in two of his last three starts.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Swats first homer
Rotowire
Peguero went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in Monday's 8-4 win over the Padres.
Pegeuro went yard in the fourth inning, and his homer stood as the knock that gave the Pirates enough to win. This was his fifth game since his July 17 call-up, and he's gone 3-for-18 (.167) with two extra-base hits and four RBI. He appears to be the Pirates' preferred shortstop versus left-handed pitchers, but Peguero could see an increased role with Tucupita Marcano (knee) leaving Monday's game with a ligament injury.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Sitting Wednesday
Rotowire
Peguero is not in the starting lineup Wednesday versus the Guardians.
Peguero will head to the bench after he went 0-for-6 with five strikeouts over the first two games of the series. Tucupita Marcano will start at shortstop and bat seventh in the series finale with Cleveland.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Summoned to big leagues
Rotowire
Peguero was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Peguero, 22, played in one game for the Pirates last season but should get a longer look this time around. He's batted .260/.333/.462 with 13 home runs and 22 stolen bases between Double-A Altoona and Indianapolis in 2023. Peguero could see the bulk of the starts at shortstop for Pittsburgh, with Nick Gonzales focusing more on second base.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Set to join major-league club
Rotowire
Peguero will be called up by the Pirates on Monday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Peguero began the 2023 campaign at Double-A Altoona but was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis in early July. Over 76 minor-league games this year, he's slashed .256/.330/.458 with 13 home runs, 54 runs, 38 RBI and 21 steals. The 22-year-old made his major-league debut last year during a lone matchup with the Pirates, and he should have plenty of opportunities to play in Pittsburgh down the stretch.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Reassigned to minors camp
Rotowire
Peguero was reassigned Tuesday to the minor-league side of Pirates camp.
Peguero was called up for his MLB debut last June but appeared in only one game with Pittsburgh. The 22-year-old infielder slashed .259/.305/.387 with 10 home runs and 28 stolen bases in 121 games last summer at Double-A.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Scuffling since return to Double-A
Rotowire
Peguero has slashed just .222/.283/.292 with three home runs, eight steals and a 12:39 BB:K through 46 games since being optioned back to Double-A Altoona.
He wasn't exactly lighting up the Eastern League before his June cup of coffee in the majors, but Peguero has had a lot of trouble producing since making his return to Double-A. Though the 21-year-old shortstop has good speed and a bit of pop, the latter has hardly shown up this year. On the bright side, he has actually trimmed his strikeout rate a bit compared to last season.
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Pirates' Liover Peguero: Heads back to Double-A
Rotowire
Peguero was optioned to Double-A Altoona on Monday, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
Peguero somewhat surprisingly beat fellow shortstop prospect Oneil Cruz to the majors last week, but that appeared to be more a matter of geographical proximity than anything else, as he was able to make the short drive from Altoona to Pittsburgh on minimal notice after Tucupita Marcano hit the COVID-19 injured list Friday. Peguero held his own in his lone appearance, going 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts, but the team will now turn to Cruz as the presumed long-term solution at shortstop.
