The Pittsburgh Pirates became conservative buyers at the MLB trade deadline this year. Unfortunately, the few additions made sent Pittsburgh plummeting further down the MLB standings instead of contending for a Wild Card spot. Now, there are already MLB rumors about changes on the horizon.
Pittsburgh looked great coming out of the All-Star Break, opening the second half with series victories over the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros. However, since July 31, the Pirates record is 3-12 over the last 15 games.
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As reported by USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale, the Pirates’ second-half collapse this summer could cost manager Derek Shelton his job. If he manages to survive, Pittsburgh is expected to force some big changes to his coaching staff this offseason.
- Derek Shelton manager record (Baseball Reference): 276-392 with the Pittsburgh Pirates
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Entering MLB games today, the Pirates have the sixth-worst record (10-16) in the majors since the All-Star Break. During the 26-game slide, per FanGraphs, the Pirates lineup ranked 23rd in OPS (.697)and 27th in runs scored (106). It’s come at a time when the Pirates bullpen (3.79 ERA, 13th in MLB) and starting rotation (4.56 ERA) have been much less of a problem.
Pittsburgh attempted to address some of its issues at the MLB trade deadline. However, since joining the Pirates lineup, Bryan De La Cruz (.444 OPS) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (.815 OPS) haven’t been able to turn things around for this club.
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The Pirates organization has been pretty patient with Shelton. Following consecutive seasons with 100 losses from 2021-’22, he oversaw a 14-game improvement from 2022 to 2023. However, the club is now struggling to make another leap despite the emergence of Paul Skenes and Jared Jones.
If the Pirates do fire Shelton, this figures to be one of the top MLB managerial vacancies available this summer. With Skip Schumaker widely viewed as one of the best skippers available, he could be a compelling option for the Pirates front office this winter.
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