Entering 4th season as manager, Derek Shelton expects that Pirates 'have a team that's better'

CINCINNATI — Derek Shelton sat in the visiting dugout at Great American Ball Park on the eve of Opening Day, believing his fourth season managing the Pittsburgh Pirates finally will bring progress.

If that’s received with a shrug, it’s because Shelton’s first three seasons have been a bit of a disaster — not only in the win-loss column but with a number of game-changing gaffes straight out of the Keystone Cops.

After losing 100 games in back-to-back seasons, the Pirates open the 2023 campaign here against the Reds at 4:10 p.m. Thursday with an air of optimism sparked by the arrival of a handful of veterans who have provided professionalism and a sense of starpower.

“I think we have a team that’s better,” Shelton said. “We have to execute. We still have a ton of youth here. We have to realize that there still’s going to be growing pains, but I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

The $30.4 million the Pirates spent in free agency brings expectations for improvement, however minimal, after going 62-100 last year. BetOnline.ag predicts the Pirates to win 67¹⁄₂ games (or two more than the Reds) and has Shelton at 6-to-1 odds of being the first major-league manager to be fired this season. Only Davey Martinez of the Washington Nationals (5 to 1) is ahead of Shelton.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington gave Shelton what amounted to a vote of confidence last week, crediting him and the coaching staff for keeping the focus on effort under adverse circumstances as the club underwent a roster overhaul and rebuild.

Baseball #OpeningDay : Check out the 4-page MLB preview published in today's Tribune-Review. And go here for the full eTrib. https://t.co/7uaA6U1Djy pic.twitter.com/3otBf6avjA

— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) March 30, 2023

“He has been through difficult days, as we all have,” Cherington told the Tribune-Review. “The thing that I respect about him, as much as anything, is his energy to keep fighting and keep coming back the next day and finding ways to get better. He’s just been dogged since the day he got the job about improving — improving himself, improving for us. We talk about it a lot. We need to help each other get better, keep getting better and he’s been entirely focused on that. I really respect that.”

If Shelton is on the hot seat, he sure seems comfortable. Maybe it’s the improved starting lineup and bench depth. Outfielder Bryan Reynolds and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes are the only returning starters from the Opening Day lineup last year at St. Louis. Joining them is a rising young star in shortstop Oneil Cruz and free-agent acquisitions Austin Hedges, Rich Hill, Carlos Santana and the homecoming story of five-time All-Star and 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen.

“I think people are excited that we’ve gotten better,” Shelton said. “One of the things comes down to health. We have to stay healthy, but we have better depth than we’ve had in the past, which has affected us by the people we’ve added. Now we have guys in Triple-A that have played in the big leagues. We didn’t have that before. We were adding sometimes, and guys were not roster guys. Now we have guys down there that have played in the big leagues. As we continue to do this, the expectation is that we’re going to be better.”

Health remains the primary concern, especially with 2022 Opening Day starter JT Brubaker returning to Pittsburgh to be evaluated for right elbow/forearm discomfort. Shelton called it “extremely challenging” that Pirates have to place Brubaker on the injured list to start the season.

The 29-year-old right-hander was 0-2 with a 5.19 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with 26 strikeouts and three walks in 17 ¹⁄₃ innings over five Grapefruit League starts, so efficient that Shelton said it had pitching coach Oscar Marin trying to figure out how to get his pitch count up.

“There’s a combination: The buildup, No. 1, because you’re kind of smelling it and then the fact that he was really executing pitches,” Shelton said. “The fact that our biggest concern going into the last start or two was that he’d been so efficient. That’s great once the season starts, but in spring training you need a buildup.”

The lineup is a better mix of youth and veterans, but there is potential for three starters — outfielder Jack Suwinski (106 games), second basemen Rodolfo Castro (102) and Ji Hwan Bae (10) along with Cruz (89) — to have fewer than 110 games of major-league experience.

Shelton has lived through his share of Pirates players making rookie mistakes, from a ridiculous rundown and a missed base on a home run to a cell phone popping out a pocket. Then again, he had one veteran pitcher get ejected from a game he wasn’t pitching in and a veteran backup catcher tossed from the dugout, forcing the Pirates to use a middle infielder as an emergency catcher.

Shelton was too busy building relationships with his young players, having discussions both calming and difficult. Now he has veterans to handle those clubhouse conversations. So, excuse Shelton if he laughs at the suggestion that no one would blame him for flipping a food table.

“I don’t think I’ll be flipping any food tables,” Shelton said with a laugh, shooting a glance in the direction of team dietician Hillary Ake. “That’s the thing. I think how I present myself outwardly sometimes isn’t where I’m at internally. I have moments. I just don’t let it be seen a lot.”

Shelton expressed his dissatisfaction with the Pirates’ erratic play on defense early in spring training, so the way they played over the final 10 days had him pleased the message was received. Maybe more than anyone on the Pirates, he’s ready for the regular season to start.

“I’m very excited,” Shelton said. “Yes, it’s nice to be in Bradenton, nice to celebrate 100 years in Bradenton, nice to be at home but I’m ready to get going. It’s time to go. It was time for us to get out. We’re ready to go.”