Sad news: Derek Shelton tears up as Pittsburgh Pirates introduces their fresh head coach to the team
In his more than two seasons as the Pirates’ manager, Derek Shelton has only managed a 127-214 record because he has been saddled with the unenviable responsibility of leading the team through a protracted rebuilding process. Shelton will remain the team’s manager through the 2023 season, which is the final year of Shelton’s original deal, Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington informed reporters, including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic.
Working with Shelty and this staff is a pleasure. They put forth a ton of effort every day and are really concerned about doing things well, according to Cherington. “I have complete faith in the amount of work that this staff does, and I’m excited for this group to reap the rewards of their hard work. They probably will as our roster develops and becomes more potent.
Naturally, considering how little playing time Shelton has had on Pittsburgh’s roster, his record is by no means a deciding factor in his job security. Cherington stated that “I really do believe we’re making progress in a lot of ways that isn’t showing up — it’s not going to show up publicly — but will help lead us to success” in the future and that “I think we’re at a moment in time (when) progress should not be measured entirely by wins and losses.”
Despite their lackluster 47-72 record, the Bucs have given prominent rookies like Oneil Cruz, Roansy Contreras, Rodolfo Castro, and Tucupita Marcano additional time to develop in the major leagues in 2022. The current squad is full of talented players; Bryan Reynolds has already proven to be an All-Star level player, Jason Bednar has become a good closer, and Ke’Bryan Hayes has developed into one of baseball’s top defenders. Furthermore, not even a few of the best prospects signed since Cherington assumed leadership in November 2019 have made it to the main leagues.
Considering all of this, it is just too early to assess a lot of the Pirates’ rebuild, and one of those mostly unknown variables is Shelton’s managerial abilities. Given that Shelton still has one season left on his contract, a managerial change would have come as a bigger surprise because it would have suggested that Cherington or the ownership had concerns about the way Shelton was developing the Pirates’ young players. Cherington has used Shelton “almost as an assistant general manager,” as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal noted back in April. The fact that Shelton was given a four-year contract in his first managing position may be an indication of Cherington’s early confidence.
In a radio interview earlier this week, Cherington and Shelton both declined to comment on whether or not discussions had taken place on 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 very typical for teams to offer captains even a one-year extension in order to allay any perceptions of them being “lame ducks.” It appears likely that Shelton and the Pirates will come to an agreement on a shorter-term contract at this point, even though it might not become official until sometime in the early part of 2023.
