Since trading Daniel Vogelbach, Pirates using DH role to 'facilitate best matchup'

After spending his coaching career in the American League, Derek Shelton enjoyed the chess match of the National League last season as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As much as he enjoyed doing the double switch, Shelton had no qualms when MLB adopted the universal designated hitter this season. He had a one-word answer when asked if he misses watching pitchers attempt to hit: “No.”

Not when a pair of starting pitchers — Bryse Wilson (hamstring) and Dillon Peters (low back) — ended the season on the injured list last season after suffering strains at the plate or on the basepaths. Not when Pirates pitchers combined to bat .067 (17 for 253), with three doubles, one home run and seven RBIs last season.

“It scares me to death that a guy’s going to get hurt on the bases,” Shelton said. “Pitching is so precious, anyway, so that’s the thing. The strategy part of it, yeah, it’s extremely fun.”

Since trading Daniel Vogelbach to the New York Mets on July 22, Shelton has returned to being strategic with the designated hitter by using nine players at DH.

The results are somewhat surprising.

Yoshi Tsutsugo was awful. Bryan Reynolds has been terrific. Ben Gamel drives in runs. Michael Chavis gets on base. Cal Mitchell and Oneil Cruz are .300 hitters. Even Ke’Bryan Hayes, a Gold Glove candidate at third base, has thrived in his two games at DH.

The Pirates miss Vogelbach’s left-handed power, but the numbers aren’t drastically different in most offensive categories. Where Vogelbach slashed .228/.338/.430 with 10 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 34 RBIs in 75 games with the Pirates — he served as DH in 65 of those — his replacements have combined to slash .254/.303/.405 with seven doubles, four homers and 21 RBIs in 34 games.

No wonder Shelton doesn’t mind rotating the DH on a daily basis. It gives him a chance to find favorable matchups with his hitters, especially given their lefty-leaning lineup.

“For our guys, it’s more trying to keep them engaged about what the pitchers are doing because they’re still trying to learn,” Shelton said, noting there are opportunities to work with hitting coaches Andy Haines and Christian Marrero. “For young players, it’s more about learning what the attack plans are.”

Tsutsugo got the first crack in a last-ditch effort to stay in the lineup. He went 2 for 19 (.105) with two singles, two RBIs and nine strikeouts in five games at DH before being designated for assignment Aug. 3.

Gamel has served as DH a dozen times since the Vogelbach trade, batting only .181 (8 for 44) but delivering two doubles and five RBIs. He has seven RBIs in 14 games at DH this season.

Reynolds is slashing .300/.429/.450 with three doubles, a homer and seven RBIs in 11 games at DH this season. In four games at DH since late July, Reynolds is batting .353 (6 for 17) with three doubles, a homer, six RBIs and six runs scored.

Of course, that includes Reynolds going 3 for 4 with five RBIs and three runs scored in an 8-7 loss Aug. 14 at San Francisco. Shelton credited Reynolds for serving as a “stabilizing force” by having good at-bats.

“That’s what we need out of Bryan,” Shelton said, “and he really came through.”

Shelton has used Reynolds as an example of how the DH role gives him a chance to rest starting position players, keeping them off their feet in the field without disrupting their rhythm at the plate. Then again, Shelton also has the option of making late-game defensive switches, which he’s done twice with Reynolds in center field this season.

“That becomes another factor in how your defense is going to play out, who your pitcher is on the mound, how you’re going to align your defense,” Shelton said. “There’s a ton of factors, but I think the overarching thing is the fact that you’re trying to get the best matchups every day, and if you’re not playing a guy there because of health reasons or a day off, you’re just going to facilitate the best matchup.”

The DH has allowed Shelton to ease players back into the batting order after returning from injuries. Hayes is the latest example of that. After missing 10 games with a mid-back muscle strain, Hayes went 2 for 4 with a double against Atlanta in his return last Wednesday.

“I kind of, in a sense, just got to focus on my at-bats and had a little more time whenever we were on defense to look at sequencing and all of that stuff,” said Hayes, who had an RBI single as DH in Sunday’s 5-0 win at Philadelphia. “More importantly, the more and more at-bats I get after missing all that time, I’m trying to get more comfortable and get back in a rhythm up there.”

The success of rookies at DH is interesting, given their struggles at the plate as position players. Cruz is hitting .300 in three games as DH — 102 points higher than his batting average. Mitchell fared even better, slashing .316/.350/.526 with a double, a homer and four RBIs in five games as DH. After going 0 for 6 in his first two turns at DH, Bligh Madris was 2 for 4 with two runs, including one in the ninth inning of a 5-4 walk-off win over Cincinnati on Aug. 19.

As a former hitting coach with Cleveland and Tampa Bay, Shelton is conscientious about the “extremely different routine” involved with serving as designated hitter. Shelton recalled how Travis Hafner, who had 200 home runs in 1,043 games as a DH, spent “almost the entire game” hitting in the batting cage to keep his swing sharp. Others, like David Ortiz, remained in the dugout so he could watch the pitchers.

“The thing is if you have a ‘DH’ DH, like a guy that stands there every day and can do it, that separates it,” Shelton said. “Other than that, with a young club, the personal preference would be the way we’re doing it now, because you’re able to give opportunities to different people in those situations and still keep guys in the lineup.

“And for us right now, with a young group, we’re able to make sure we’re able to facilitate four or five at-bats every day to someone different, to keep them in the lineup. With having (five) weeks left in the season, those at-bats are crucial for our young players. I guess, overall, I would prefer the way we have it.”