Budding friendship, but battle continues for second base job
Gonzales, Peguero vying for one spot
BRADENTON, Fla. — It all started in a hotel lobby during a global pandemic.
After missing out on baseball due to the world shutting down in the spring of 2020, a fresh-out-of-college Nick Gonzales, just cleared from his mandated quarantine, found himself sitting around, killing time in the days leading up to the opening of the Pirates’ alternate training site that was organized for the franchise’s younger prospects.
Not far from the Pirates first-round pick that season was Liover Peguero, another newcomer to the organization who joined that past winter as part of the return from the Diamondbacks in the Starling Marte trade. A friendly extrovert, Peguero made his way over to someone he presumed to be his teammate and introduced himself.
“I was like, ‘Nick Gonzales, I’ve heard this name before,’ ” Peguero recalled. “I looked him up on my phone, looked at him and said, ‘Oh, you’re this kid!’ ”
While Gonzales admittedly didn’t know who Peguero was at the moment, it didn’t take long for the two to hit things off.
Before they parted ways in the hotel lobby, Peguero shared some of his Chick-filA fries with Gonzales, who was waiting for his own order to arrive.
That gesture, along with some brief time on the field together, was all it took to create what is now a strong friendship.
“It was important,” Gonzales said. “Obviously, it was foreign territory to me. I had never played professional baseball and was now at the alternate site, which was kinda different. So to have a good friend by your side immediately was really nice.”
A few years later, after serving as a double-play duo in both Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis and then making their major-league debuts, Gonzales and Peguero find themselves once again spending plenty of time together.
Not only do the two have lockers next to each other in the team’s clubhouse at Pirate City, but they’re both — along with Jared Triolo and Ji Hwan Bae — in the midst of a battle to be named the club’s starting second baseman. Both Gonzales and Peguero saw time at second base last season.
While it was Peguero who performed better of the two — hitting .237 with seven home runs at the plate and playing error-free defense in 33 games at second base — both understand they must be better in 2024.
Rather than allowing a competition to divide them, the two have used the battle to push each other in a productive way.
“We honestly just have fun out there,” Peguero said. “We know we’re competing, but it’s kind of a brotherhood. We both want to get that spot, so we’re gonna see. We both battle against each other in a good way.”
An example of their battles was seen earlier this week. During routine infield drills, Gonzales and Peguero competed to see who could deliver more throws at chest level to first base.
Albeit simple, it is moments such as those that put a smile on their manager’s face.
“When you’re in the minor leagues together, you develop bonds,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I think one of the things that’s gonna be really fun about our group and was fun about our group last year in September is that a lot of these guys have played together in the minor leagues and have come up. It’s probably a little bit of a challenge for them because they are competing, but the one thing I will say about those two specifically is their biggest fan is probably the other guy, and they’re going to continue to push each other.”
And though the competition will likely continue well into the regular season, Peguero and Gonzales say their friendship will remain strong.
“He’s my favorite person ever,” Peguero said. “I’ve gotta be honest — he’s been someone pushing me since I’ve met him. He’s the one that’s always there during the hard times, during the good times, and, you know, I’m very lucky to have somebody like this on the team.”
“It’s not weird at all,” Gonzales added. “It’s good competition for us. We’re making each other better. It’s good for the Pirates.”