Liover Peguero (born December 31, 2000) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Peguero signed with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

as an international free agent in July 2017. He spent his first professional season in 2018 with the

Dominican Summer League Diamondbacks The Dominican Summer League Diamondbacks or DSL Diamondbacks, commonly called the DSL D-backs, are a Rookie League affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks based in the Dominican Republic. They play in the Baseball City Division of the Dominican Sum ...

and

Arizona League Diamondbacks The Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields ...

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

.259 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 21

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs) over 41

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. In 2019, he played for the

Missoula Osprey The Missoula PaddleHeads are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Missoula, Montana, and play their home games at Ogren Park ...

and

Hillsboro Hops The Hillsboro Hops are a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a city in the Portland metropolitan area. The Hops are members of the Northwest League as an affiliate of the Ariz ...

and slashed .326/.382/.485 with five home runs, 38 RBIs, and 11

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s over 60 games.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On January 27, 2020, the Diamondbacks traded Peguero and

Brennan Malone Below are the rosters of the minor league affiliates of the Pittsburgh Pirates: Players Carter Bins Carter Bins (born October 7, 1998) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Bins attended Angelo ...

to the

for

Starling Marte Starling Javier Marte (born October 9, 1988) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, and Oa ...

. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Pirates invited him to their Spring Training in 2021. He spent the season with the

Greensboro Grasshoppers The Greensboro Grasshoppers are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greensboro, North Carolina. They are members of the South Atlantic League and are the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They play their home games at First National ...

, slashing .270/.332/.444 with 14 home runs, 45 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases over ninety games. Pittsburgh selected his contract and added him to their 40-man roster after the season. Peguero was called up to the Pirates' major league roster on June 17, 2022, replacing

Tucupita Marcano Tucupita José Marcano (born September 16, 1999) is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Career San Diego Padres On Jul ...

. He made his major league debut the next day, getting one hit and a walk in four plate appearances in a 7–5 loss to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. In 2023, he played in 59 games for Pittsburgh, batting .237/.280/.374 with seven home runs, 26 RBI, and six stolen bases. Peguero was optioned to the Triple–A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

to begin the 2024 season.

Personal life

Peguero began teaching himself the English language as a child in the Dominican Republic by listening to hip hop music, reading the lyrics and then translating them into Spanish. Before his first minor league season began, he realized that he had become fluent in English without having taken a single class when he was able to carry on a conversation with fellow Diamondbacks minor leaguer

Pavin Smith Pavin Joe Smith (born February 6, 1996) is an American professional baseball first baseman and right fielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Virginia Cavaliers. The Diamondbacks sele ...

References

External links