Ben Cherington to Sink or Swim with Derek Shelton
p/c: Charles LeClaire - USA Today Sports
It was at this time five years ago that Neal Huntington was still the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. After Clint Hurdle was fired, on the final day of the 2019 regular season, Pirates’ fans were waiting for the other shoe to drop, in regards to Huntington’s job security.
On October 28th, 2019, the Pirates dismissed Huntington as vice president and GM. In the meantime, Kevan Graves served as the interim general manager.
Ben Cherington would be named the new Pirates GM on November 18th. A week later, Derek Shelton was announced as the next manager.
After posting the worst record during the Covid shortened 2020 season - followed by back-to-back 100-loss campaigns - Pittsburgh began to show signs of improvement last year. They finished 76-86 - a 14-win increase from 2022.
2024 seemed to present some level of optimism for the Pirates. The bullpen was considered by most to be a strength for them.
At 54-52, the Bucs found themselves buyers at the trade deadline, for the first time since 2018. The additions included Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Toronto Blue Jays and Bryan De La Cruz from the Miami Marlins.
Unfortunately, the Pirates experienced an August collapse by going 8-19. The bulk of those losses involved relievers not being able to get it done late in games. Compound the issue with the lackluster nature of the offense.
Pittsburgh once again went 76-86 - marking the first time since 2005-2006 that they had the same record in back-to-back years.
While the record was the same for the Bucs, there is some needed context. Unlike 2023, the Pirates had Paul Skenes and Jared Jones, as well as better versions of Bailey Falter and Luis Ortiz, within their starting rotation. Not to mention that they also had a full season of Oneil Cruz, who was nearly a four-win player on offense, with a 3.8 oWAR.
The Pirates’ offense this year struck out a franchise most 1,506 times, while posting a National League worst .672 OPS. On Monday, it came out that the organization was firing hitting coach Andy Haines. A couple other dismissals were made, with bullpen coach Justin Meccage, along with strength & conditioning coach Adam Vish.
Cherington held a press conference on Wednesday, to indicate that Shelton will be brought back to manage the Pirates in 2025. According to Cherington, he approached owner Bob Nutting on wanting Shelton to return, with Nutting giving his approval.
Bringing back a manager, who has just a .415 winning percentage, simply isn’t sending the right message, and that mediocrity is being accepted by this organization.
From what appeared promising in 2023 has been a step backwards. Although the rotation was a positive, the bullpen vastly underperformed, and the offense was terribly, inconsistent.
Whether Cherington felt it was the right thing to do by retaining Shelton, and going into next season together, he’s literally putting his job security on the line, with anything less than the postseason in 2025 becoming a walk out the door for both.