I’ve been very vocal about my Pittsburgh Pirates disappointment, and how it falls primarily on owner Bob Nutting’s shoulders.
With Nutting running the show in Pittsburgh, the team is bound for continued mediocrity. That mediocrity requires a scapegoat for public relations purposes — and with the Pirates at 12-24 and in last place in the National League Central, it may ultimately come in the form of manager Derek Shelton getting replaced.
And that’s not fair to Shelton.
Listen, I get it. The Pirates have underwhelmed year in and year out. They have shown little improvement from a development standpoint (see: Ke’Bryan Hayes’ offensive struggles). They have one of the best pitchers in modern history in Paul Skenes and a rotation that will eventually feature Jared Jones, Bubba Chandler and Mitch Keller.
But who could succeed in these conditions? Their 2025 payroll is $87.6 million, which ranks 26th in baseball, according to USA Today. No team in the modern era should have a payroll under $100 million. It should not happen. Ever. Not even Dave Roberts, Aaron Boone, Alex Cora or Bruce Bochy – or any of the other elite managers – could produce a winning team in Pittsburgh.
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Bob Nutting is setting Derek Shelton up to fail
Since being hired in Pittsburgh, Shelton has been set up to fail. Is he the perfect manager? No, he’s not without his faults. But the Pirates’ issues, and there are many of them, fall squarely on Nutting. He has a prime opportunity to maximize the Pirates’ window with Skenes on a rookie contract, with Chandler on the verge of his debut and a strong core of other young talent. Instead, he’s mostly sat on his hands; the biggest addition he authorized his front office to make this past offseason was Tommy Pham, who’s hitting .178/.257/.218 with zero home runs and six RBI.
If the Pirates do indeed part with Shelton, there will be managerial candidates intrigued by the position. Working with Skenes, and that rotation, is a unique opportunity. But would any of those candidates, like, say, Skip Schumaker, be interested in managing a team whose payroll is under $90 million? Schumaker just had that in Miami. Why would he want to do it again?
People in and around the Pirates have nothing but nice things to say about Shelton. He’s a respected baseball man. If this is his final season in Pittsburgh, he’ll surely land on his feet. But don’t go blaming Shelton for Bob Nutting’s mistakes – and unless he decides to sell the team, the Pirates will continue to be what they’ve long been: mediocre.