‘A division we can win’: Derek Shelton says Pirates need to add bats to starting pitching

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton told MLB Network he believes they can win the National League Central Division if they can add offense to complement their starting pitching.

During a guest appearance Monday on “MLB Tonight” during baseball’s winter meetings in Dallas, Shelton was asked if he’s pounding the table demanding the Pirates add some hitters to their starting lineup.

“I don’t know if there’s any pounding the table, but we are talking about it. I think your point is right: This is a division that we can win because our starting pitching is really good,” Shelton said. “We do need to add bats. We do have a pretty good core with Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz and, last year, Joey Bart turned into a good offensive player. So we’re in a good spot. We do need to add those things, but I feel really good with where we’re at.”

The Pirates are looking to add a first baseman and corner outfielder this offseason after finishing 76-86 for the second consecutive season. Last month, they non-tendered right fielders Bryan De La Cruz and Connor Joe, who also split time at first base.

"This is a division that we can win because our starting pitching is really good. We do need to add bats...but I feel really good about where we're at."

- @Pirates manager Derek Shelton#MLBTonight presented by @CohnReznick pic.twitter.com/zF6xt4wC4O

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 10, 2024

Shelton said he’s “really encouraged” with the offseason progress of third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. The 2023 NL Gold Glove winner has dealt with back issues the past two seasons and is coming off a career-worst season. He batted .233 with four home runs and 25 RBIs in 96 games and was shut down for the final six weeks of the season.

“I think in Ke’s case, it’s just keeping him healthy,” Shelton said, noting that Hayes was “really good” in his final three months of the 2023 season. “He’s having a good offseason. He’s doing all baseball activities. He’s swinging. He’s taking ground balls. Now it’s early December, but we needed that because he missed so much time. Really encouraged with where he’s at.”

Shelton also was pleased with Cruz’s transition from shortstop to center field, a switch the Pirates made in late August so they could see him play his new position in major-league games over the final month of the season.

“We didn’t want to do it in winter ball. We didn’t want to do it during drills,” Shelton said. “Metrically, it showed up better than we thought. We’ve taken a premier, elite athlete — and there’s a bunch of open space at PNC (Park) — and said, ‘Go catch the ball.’ He made a couple plays where we were like, ‘Whoa, that was easy, just getting after the ball.’ He’s just now learning the reads and breaks, but he’s such a good athlete that it transitioned really nicely.”

Finally, Shelton got a laugh when “MLB Tonight” host Greg Amsinger predicted he would have to remove right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes from more no-hitters than any manager in history.

“I hope that’s the case,” Shelton said with a laugh. “I may have done it last year a couple times. Sometimes, it’s not by choice. We were very thoughtful. It’s going to be a good problem to have. I will say that.

“It’s very hard to have those conversations. Last year he understood it more because we were very diligent about what the innings were going to be and how we were going to do it. I think it’s going to get harder moving forward but, I’ll tell you what: If he puts us in that spot — or puts me in that spot — I’ll take that all day long.”

Shelton pulled Skenes from a no-hitter twice last season. In his second start, Skenes had 11 strikeouts and one walk on 100 pitches in six innings in a 9-3 win at the Chicago Cubs on May 17. He also had 11 strikeouts against one walk on 99 pitches in seven innings in a 1-0 win at Milwaukee on July 11.

The 2023 No. 1 overall pick, Skenes went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 133 innings over 23 starts last season, winning NL rookie of the year honors and finishing third in NL Cy Young voting even though the Pirates were careful about managing his workload by closely monitoring his innings and pitch count.

“It’s going to get tougher,” Shelton said. “I think he’s built that way. We’re dealing with a different human being. This guy’s 6-6. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s physical. I think the way he prepares and is diligent about his work is the thing that’s most impressive. He’s 22 years old. This guy’s got a thirst to learn. He’s got a thirst to get better. That’s really important. What he did this year was historic. A sub-2.00 ERA. You don’t see that.”

Skenes had three strikeouts in tossing two no-hit innings in his final start, at the New York Yankees on Sept. 28, and Shelton stressed the importance of him finishing the season on the mound.

“One of the things we felt really strongly about was we wanted him to finish,” Shelton said. “We wanted him to pitch at Yankee Stadium. It was two innings. It was the only time we told him, like, ‘Hey it’s going to be short. I called him and said, ‘Hey, man, two innings. We’re going to finish the year strong because the expectation is, next year, we’re playing longer. I want you to thrive. Let’s go.’ Where are we at at the end of the year? Where are we at in October? Those kind of conversations.”