Thursday BP: Joel Peguero wins 2025 Barney Nugent Award
Photo by Andy Kuno/SanOn Wednesday, the San Francisco Giants announced the Barney Nugent Award, their annual Spring Training hardware. It might not be prestigious in the grand scheme of the baseball world, but it's a highly meaningful award for the organization. Named after a former trainer for the organization, the Barney Nugent Award is handed out to a player 'whose performance and dedication in Spring Training best exemplifies the San Francisco Giants spirit' ... and, critically, it's only given to players in big league camp for the first time in their career.
The 2025 winner is a pitcher for the first time in 13 years: right-handed reliever Joel Peguero. The flamethrower is in his first year with the organization, which is another rarity for a Barney Nugent winner.
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It's a testament to Peguero's perseverance: he made his big league camp debut in his 10th season in the pros, and the soon-to-be 28-year is making the most of it. He's been easily breezing up to 101 mph, and has a great shot at making the Opening Day roster out of the bullpen. He's yet to allow a run in 6.2 spring innings, with just five hits and one walk allowed, compared to eight strikeouts.
The Barney Nugent Award has been given out to some players who became key contributors over the years, as well as to a few names you've probably forgotten about. Here are all the winners since 2007:
2007: Tim Lincecum
2008: Brian Bocock
2009: Joe Martinez
2010: Darren Ford
2011: Brandon Belt
2012: Dan Otero
2013: Brock Bond
2014: Mark Minicozzi
2015: Matt Duffy
2016: Trevor Brown
2017: Jae-Gyun Hwang
2018: Chris Shaw
2019: Joey Bart
2021: Heliot Ramos
2022: Brett Auerbach
2023: Casey Schmitt
2024: Ismael Munguia
2025: Joel Peguero
Congrats, Joel!
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Then you look at his numbers in his postseason, he hits good pitching — there's just a lot to like about this guy.' Giants first baseman Dom Smith, who played with Devers in Boston last season, offered a glowing endorsement of his former teammate. 'The thing I admired is he wanted to play every day,' Smith said. 'He's a grinder. He doesn't want a day off. He wants to play against the elite pitchers and be in the big moments and he wants to win. It's been a crazy last few hours, but we got a really, really, really talented ballplayer right in his prime, and I can't wait to see how many balls he'll hit in the cove.' Giants shortstop Willy Adames, who has known Devers since at least 2015, expressed confidence that the drama in Boston won't follow him to San Francisco. 'From what I know, he wants people to communicate with him and be honest,' Adames said. 'I feel like with Buster, that's all we get. Buster is a super honest guy. He's going to be straight up and (Devers is) going to be comfortable here, I know. Advertisement 'I'm so happy I don't know how to describe it. I didn't even stretch today. I was so excited, I was like, `Let's go.'' Posey said he initiated trade conversations with Breslow several weeks ago, and enough momentum has built in the past few days to get ownership involved. Giants GM Zack Minasian communicated with Breslow's top lieutenants to agree on the players headed to Boston. There was just one problem as the agreement neared the finish line. Harrison was scheduled to start Sunday at Dodger Stadium. 'Was there trepidation? Sure,' Posey said. 'I mean, it wasn't ideal to be on Harrison's day. But (we) felt like with the momentum, it was an opportunity to get this done, and it's fortunate that it did come together. We're all obviously very excited about adding one of the best hitters in all of Major League Baseball to our lineup. At the same time, giving up a young starting pitcher in Kyle Harrison is not easy. … It wasn't a decision that came lightly, but one that we all felt as a group was extremely impactful for the San Francisco Giants.' Harrison had gone to the bullpen and was about to begin his pre-start routine when he received word to report back to the clubhouse. That was the first clue to Giants players that something was going down. Then Melvin called Hicks into his office. All of this was happening as the players were headed to the field less than 20 minutes before the first pitch. Sean Hjelle received late word to be ready for the first inning and he took the ball for his first major-league start. When Hjelle ran out of gas in the fourth inning, he was replaced by Joey Lucchesi, despite no official announcement that the left-hander had been added to the roster. The Giants officially announced the trade at the bottom of the sixth inning. Teammates described nobody as more stunned than Harrison, a Concord De La Salle High alum who went from preparing to face the Dodgers to contemplating a cross-country change of scenery. Harrison stayed in the clubhouse till the end of the game and Melvin was able to take him aside for a brief conversation. Harrison, 23, represents the Giants' biggest sacrifice in the deal. He received an over-slot bonus to sign as a third-round draft pick out of high school, and after two minor league seasons racking up strikeouts, many in the organization considered him the Giants' best pitching prospect since Madison Bumgarner. Harrison struggled with shoulder discomfort and fluctuating velocity while making 24 major league starts as a 22-year-old last season, and he lost his place in this year's Opening Day rotation due to an inconsistent spring. But his fastball velocity ticked up at Triple-A Sacramento, and he moved from long relief to the rotation when Justin Verlander hit the IL with a pectoral injury. With Verlander cleared to return to the rotation as early as Wednesday, Harrison was likely to be bounced from the rotation again. But his youth and high-spin fastball from a low arm slot continue to give him a potentially high ceiling as a front-end starting pitcher. For the Giants to part with Harrison demonstrates the organization's great faith in their other young starters — Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp, along with left-hander Carson Whisenhunt at Triple-A Sacramento. Advertisement 'I told Kyle before he left, `Go be a star over there,'' Giants ace Logan Webb said. 'I'm the biggest believer in him. He's getting to go learn from some really good pitchers … and (former Giants pitching coach) Andrew Bailey. So it's a good landing spot and I think he's going to be great.' 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'We feel really good about it,' Posey said. 'It's a group of guys that are proven that have been there. They have a track record. My hope is that these guys feed off one another. They make each other better. I believe adding a guy like Rafael Devers to the lineup not only gives you a boost from his own personal production, but just the ability for guys to talk to that elite type of hitter, watch that elite type of hitter. 'And (with) the commitments, it's going to be on us as an organization going forward to do really well in the draft and other avenues, as far as being able to develop talent through our system.' That's a big thing to get right. There will be so many impacts and fallouts and situations to manage following the Giants' most seismic trade in a generation that it's impossible to predict them all. Advertisement But when the bat is compelling enough … 'I don't know where he's going to hit, but I don't think it really matters,' Webb said of Devers. 'The guy's a stud, plain and simple. People that don't know Buster should realize the only thing he wants to do is win, plain and simple. Getting a guy like that is a win-now move.'
