Liover Peguero will leave Pittsburgh with a neat souvenir.
Assuming he leaves, of course.
A day after the Pirates hastily promoted Peguero from Class AA Altoona when they learned Tucupita Marcano was going on the COVID-19 injured list, manager Derek Shelton took things a step further Saturday by starting Peguero against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park, setting the stage for another Pirates MLB debut in a season full of them.
At 21 years and 170 days old, Peguero will become the youngest Pirates player to appear in a game since Aramis Ramirez, who was 19 years and 335 days old when he debuted on May 26, 1998. Peguero is their youngest shortstop since Abraham Nunez (1997) and the first player in club history born in 2000 or later to appear in a major league game.
“Any time we can get our young kids in this environment, regardless for the amount of time, it’s really important because the speed of the game is completely different here,” Shelton said. “The fact that [left-hander Alex] Wood’s starting and we’re pretty left-handed, it’s a good opportunity to give ‘Peggy’ his major league debut and get him out there.”
Peguero will become the 11th player to make his MLB debut with the Pirates this season, joining Cam Alldred, Diego Castillo, Jason Delay, Cal Mitchell, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Yerry De Los Santos, Travis Swaggerty, Beau Sulser and Jack Suwinski.
The last time the Pirates had 11 players debut through the first 64 games of a season was 1952, which included Tony Bartirome, Brandy Davis, Bobby Del Greco, Dick Groat, Dick Hall, Ron Kline, Clem Koshorek, Jim Mangan, Lee Walls, Jim Waugh and Ed Wolfe.
Pittsburgh has also used eight players under the age of 23, most in the majors and two shy of the franchise record (1997). The last time the Pirates used this many players 23 or younger before July 1 was in 1970.
Aside from Peguero getting acclimated to the speed of the game, this also helps the major league staff get a better look at Peguero before sending him back with things to improve. From a player perspective, Peguero can hit up veterans for intel on what things are really like in the big leagues.
“One really cool thing about that is if you make a mistake at the major league level, it gets exposed a little bit,” Shelton said. “They realize how fast it is. We have to make sure we continue to teach off those moments.”
Another part of why the Pirates have relished these situations has nothing to do with players’ performance in Pittsburgh. More than anything, it’s about what younger players might take back to their minor league teams, the knowledge and experience they’re able to share with friends.
“Anybody who plays in the big leagues, you should carry yourself in a way that’s a little bit different ... in a positive way,” Shelton said. “Not arrogant but like, ‘Hey, I’m a big leaguer. This is what you should do, and this is what we are doing.’
“They can go back and say, ‘Hey, this is how the major league players react or the major league staff.’ Any experience like that is valuable, regardless of how long it lasts.”
Smith-Njigba reflects
Canaan Smith-Njigba said he knew was something was funky with his right wrist whenever he collided with Bryan Reynolds on Wednesday in St. Louis, but he didn’t realize the severity of it until after the game.
After relying on adrenaline — and probably some stubbornness, too — to push through two at-bats, Smith-Njigba’s wrist began to really swell once he exited the game, to the point where he knew there might be something legitimately wrong.
“After the game, man, I was really feeling it,” Smith-Njigba said Saturday. “It was really bruised up. I knew something could happen after the game.”
The Pirates placed Smith-Njigba on the 60-day injured list on Friday, and he’s not eligible to come off that list until Aug. 14. In all likelihood, Smith-Njigba’s season is finished, which is unfortunate because it really had only started, the 23-year-old outfielder making his MLB debut just the day before.
“It’s a bummer,” Smith-Njigba said, “but I’ll use this time to get better and get in better shape. When I get back out there, I’ll be ready to play and help this team win.”
At least the injury should give Smith-Njigba some bragging rights over his younger brother, Jaxon, who’s a wide receiver at Ohio State. Two at-bats with a fractured wrist and nearly hitting a home run isn’t exactly easy.
“Some of the guys came up to me and said, ‘Man, I can’t believe you did that.’ I was just trying to help the team win,” Smith-Njigba said. “That’s really it. I wasn’t really focused on the wrist. I was just trying to do my part.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: June 18, 2022, 7:07 p.m.
