The head coach of Pittsburgh pirates and two all-tim players have officially announced their departure Due to…
Derek Shelton has only managed a 127-214 record in more than two seasons as Pirates manager, owing to the unenviable duty of leading the team through a lengthy rebuilding process. Shelton will remain the team’s manager through the 2023 season, the final year of his original contract, Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington told reporters, including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic.
Working with Shelty and her team is a delight. They put forth a lot of effort every day and are very concerned with doing things well, according to Cherington. “I have total faith in the amount of work that this crew undertakes, and I’m looking forward to seeing the results of their efforts. They most likely will as our roster grows and becomes more potent.
Naturally, given Shelton’s limited playing time on Pittsburgh’s roster, his record is in no way a deciding factor in his job security. Cherington said that “I really do believe we’re making progress in a lot of ways that aren’t showing up — it’s not going to show up publicly — but will help lead us to success” in the years to come and that “I think we’re at a moment in time when progress should not be measured entirely by wins and losses.”
Despite their dismal 47-72 record, the Bucs have given notable youngsters such as Oneil Cruz, Roansy Contreras, Rodolfo Castro, and Tucupita Marcano more time to grow in the major leagues in 2022. The current roster is loaded with talent; Bryan Reynolds has already proven to be an All-Star, Jason Bednar has matured into a solid closer, and Ke’Bryan Hayes has emerged as one of baseball’s best defensive players. Furthermore, not even a couple of the brightest prospects signed since Cherington took over in November 2019 have advanced to the major leagues.
Given all of this, it is just too early to assess many aspects of the Pirates’ rebuild, including Shelton’s management talents, which are mostly unknown. Given that Shelton still has one season on his contract, a managerial change would have been even more surprising, implying that Cherington or the ownership were concerned with the way Shelton was developing the Pirates’ young players. Cherington has utilized Shelton “almost as an assistant general manager,” as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported in April. The fact that Shelton was handed a four-year contract in his first managerial job may reflect Cherington’s early trust.
In a radio interview earlier this week, Cherington and Shelton both declined to say whether or not they had discussed a potential contract extension. Naturally, a new long-term contract would be the best indication of the Pirates’ confidence in their management; nevertheless, it is also fairly common for teams to award captains even a one-year extension in order to dispel any preconceptions that they are “lame ducks.” It looks that Shelton and the Pirates will reach an agreement on a shorter-term contract at this point, even if it does not become official until early 2023.
