Following a 15-7 start to the year, the Pittsburgh Pirates have extended Manager Derek Shelton with a multi-year deal.
Term and compensation were not immediately available, however the 52-year old skipper will now be tied to the franchise for the foreseeable future. Shelton’s current deal was set to expire at the end of the season.
Entering the year with a career 142-242 record over the past 3 seasons, Shelton has seen his fair share of lean years during the team’s current rebuild. Coming off back to back 100 loss seasons, Pittsburgh has been focusing on developing their prospects, often at the expense of their MLB win/loss record.
However, a hot start to 2023 has the Bucs tied with the Brewers for most wins in the National League, and 2nd most in the majors. “It shows what we’re doing and how we’re doing it is working,” Shelton said.
Entering the season as +25,000 underdogs to reach the World Series, the Pirates have blown expectations out of the water through the opening months of the 2023 campaign.
Buoyed by Bryan Reynolds .294/.553/.872 slashline, to go along with a team leading 5 HRs and 18 RBIs, Pittsburgh is firmly in the divisional mix entering Sunday’s contest against the Reds. Something that couldn’t always be said over the past 8 years through the month of April.
Prior to joining the Bucs, Shelton served as the Minnesota Twins’ bench coach, and quality control coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. He also spent time with the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians as their hitting coach.
While they still have 140 games to play, Pirates fans are cautiously optimistic that they could see postseason baseball for the first time since 2015. And they’re hoping that Shelton will be the one to help them get over the hump.
Photo: alpineinc. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Great news to hear that the Pirates have extended Derek Shelton’s contract, especially after such a promising start to the season. Do you think the team’s focus on developing prospects will pay off in the long run and lead to sustained success?
P.T
https://blog.primarytinting.net
One would hope so. They’ve got some nice pieces, but literally have 2 players signed beyond 2023, so their roster could still go in so many directions it’s hard to predict at this point. If done right, they could have a solid window to compete.