Pirates’ Solid Offseason Continues with Hiring of Derek Shelton

The Pittsburgh Pirates continued their impressive offseason with the hiring of up-and-coming manager Derek Shelton and things finally look promising for Pittsburgh baseball.

The Pittsburgh Pirates finally hired a manager to replace Clint Hurdle in the dugout, and folks, it’s a good one. With the decision to hire Derek Shelton, the Pirates continued an offseason full of shockingly good decisions. After cleaning house and hiring a new team president, general manager and now a new manager in the dugout, the Pirates have finally admitted that change was needed. Owner Bob Nutting finally seems to be taking fan concerns seriously, and the result is yet another great move in an offseason that is off to a strong start.

Shelton has been a hot name among up-and-coming managers for quite some time now and the fact the Pirates were able to land him speaks volumes about the team’s recent change in culture. As the bench coach for the upstart Minnesota Twins in 2019, Shelton was instrumental in the Twins’ offensive explosion and outstanding regular-season success.

Another positive with this hiring is that it allows Shelton to grow alongside the Pirates’ young talent during the team’s coming rebuild. As a first-time manager in the big leagues, there is certain to be a learning curve, but with low initial expectations and some youthful additions, Shelton should grow into the role. Certainly, he can’t be any worse than Hurdle was toward the end of his tenure and the potential is there to be an outstanding leader.

It wasn’t an easy process, but the Pittsburgh Pirates got it right in hiring Shelton as their manager. For a team that has been poorly run for years, this offseason has been a welcome change.