Liover Peguero and Ji Hwan Bae were once conceivably the Pittsburgh Pirates' double-play combination of the future.

Peguero was a hot shortstop prospect going into the 2022 season. Baseball Prospectus ranked him as the 38th-best prospect in the game. At the same time, Baseball America had him at No. 78 and MLB.com at No. 79. It appeared the Pirates had unearthed a gem when they acquired Peguero from the Arizona Diamondbacks as part of a trade for Starling Marte just before the start of spring training in 2020.

Bae, a second baseman, was never a top 100 prospect. However, he was long considered one of the Pirates' top 10 prospects.

Peguero and Bae never panned out for the Pirates, and it's been apparent for at least two years that they would never comprise the team's regular middle infield. The Pirates made it official on Tuesday night when, according to multiple reports, they placed Peguero and Bae on waivers to clear spots on the 40-man roster.

The failure of Peguero and Bae to become productive major leaguers highlights a Pirates' weakness that has been prevalent since Ben Cherington became general manager before the 2020 season. The Pirates have been unable to produce competent young hitters, which stands in contrast to the stable of young pitchers they are developing.

Peguero played in 96 games for the Pirates over the past four seasons, hitting .227/.278/.368 with 11 home runs and 10 stolen bases. He showed flashes of power and speed but had a minus-0.3 bWAR.

Bae once looked like a potential long-term leadoff hitter because of his outstanding speed and ability to steal bases. In fact, Bae had 37 stolen bases in 163 major-league games for the Pirates over the last four seasons. Yet Bae's slash line was .223/.294/.293, and he hit just two home runs while posting minus-0.8 bWAR.

So, Peguero and Bae are no longer part of the Pirates' perpetual rebuilding program. Instead, Nick Gonzales and Nick Yorke would likely be the double-play combination if the season started tomorrow.

Of course, the season doesn't start tomorrow, and it seems inevitable that the Pirates will break up the all-Nick combo by acquiring a shortstop this winter so Gonzales can go back to second base, where he is better suited defensively.