This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat publication. To learn the total publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it frequently in your inbox.
BRADENTON, Fla. — On the diamond at Pirate Metropolis this week, Liover Peguero and Nick Gonzales determined to have a pleasant competitors. Each gamers had been taking floor balls at second base, and so they started to trace what number of double performs every of them would have based mostly on their throws to the bag.
There was no winner that day. The duo completed in a tie, and so they went on to do the remainder of their work after a jovial second collectively.
It isn’t going to be their solely competitors of the spring, although. On daily basis this spring goes to be an unstated contest between the 2 buddies. The Pirates’ second-base job is up for grabs. The loser might wind up within the Minors.
“We each learn about it, however we don’t discuss it,” Peguero stated. “We’re simply competing on the market, giving the most effective we’ve acquired.”
The second-base competitors is maybe probably the most intriguing one for the Pirates this spring, and that’s due to Gonzales and Peguero. However they aren’t the one contenders within the working. Supervisor Derek Shelton has made it clear that Jared Triolo is within the combine, and it’s secure to imagine that Ji Hwan Bae will get a glance there as properly. Nevertheless, Bae and Triolo are each extra defensively versatile and will develop into utility gamers extra simply in the event that they don’t win the second-base job.
As for Peguero and Gonzales, the Pirates might doubtlessly choice one among them as a way to get common at-bats if the opposite received the job. Considered two of the crew’s high prospects for years, they seemed like they might be the double-play duo of the longer term, however with Oneil Cruz at shortstop, that simply leaves the spot on the proper facet of the bag open.
In January 2020, the Pirates acquired Peguero in a commerce that despatched Starling Marte to the D-backs — Ben Cherington’s first main transfer because the crew’s common supervisor. In June of that yr, Gonzales was Cherington’s first Draft decide. The infielders met on the alternate coaching web site in Altoona, Pa., in 2020 and have become fast buddies. As two of the youngest guys in that camp, they clicked.
The friendship grew right into a full bromance from there. In 2021, Gonzales introduced in cowboy hats and the 2 dressed up as cowboys within the clubhouse for the day. In ’22, Peguero saved a photograph of Gonzales in his Spring Coaching locker. This camp, the 2 are locker neighbors once more, and if there’s laughter within the Pirate Metropolis clubhouse, it’s often round that space — with one another and fellow teammates.
That’s what makes this positional battle a bit bittersweet. The Pirates have been open for years about eager to encourage competitors on the highest degree for jobs like this, and when these gamers come up by way of the Minors collectively, brothers are going to need to technically battle towards each other.
“It’s most likely a little bit little bit of a problem for them, as a result of they’re competing,” Shelton stated. “However the one factor I’ll say about these two particularly is their largest fan might be the opposite man, and so they’re going to proceed to push one another.”
The duo isn’t speaking about it. At the least not to one another. They each need what’s finest for the crew, and so they know the friendship goes to outlive.
“He’s a really real individual,” Peguero stated. “He’s the kind of individual that retains pushing me on the arduous moments and the great moments, too. It simply makes you’re feeling like you’ve gotten a brother.”
Added Gonzales: “On the finish of the day, I like this man like a brother. If one among us is in entrance of the opposite, I don’t suppose we’ll be mad. We look after one another. Me being at my finest helps him be at his finest, and vice versa.”
Each gamers confirmed flashes within the Majors final yr, albeit with inconsistent outcomes. This offseason, Peguero did extra reflecting on the best way to deal with his feelings in video games, one thing he felt he significantly improved on final yr, although there’s extra room to develop. Gonzales dove into his swing, attempting to get again to what he was doing mechanically a number of years in the past.
Discovering success with both technique might be the distinction between an Opening Day spot or not. Every participant is hoping that the opposite’s offseason work pays off.
“I need the most effective for that man, and he desires the most effective for me,” stated Gonzales.
