Kevin Gorman's Take 5: Pirates GM 'not perfect' but makes a case for continuity over cost

For all of the reactions to Ben Cherington’s public vote of confidence in Derek Shelton returning as Pittsburgh Pirates manager next season, one of the most interesting is the assumption that it really isn’t his to say.

The suggestion is that Cherington is only the general manager and answers to people above him, namely team president Travis Williams and chairman Bob Nutting. Presumably, the Pirates could change course at a moment’s notice and fire Shelton and/or Cherington after the season ends.

What that assumption doesn’t consider is the certainty that significant personnel decisions already are run past Cherington’s bosses before he makes such statements in a mid-September news conference.

If the Pirates were to make knee-jerk decisions about their manager’s future, they had plenty of chances to do so over the past six weeks: Wouldn’t they have fired Shelton amid a 10-game losing streak in early August that essentially knocked them out of playoff contention? Or following the blown seven-run lead against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 28? Or after the Cubs’ combined no-hitter in an 11-0 win on Sept. 4?

• Pirates GM Ben Cherington: 'Fully expect' Derek Shelton to return as manager in 2025

“If you believe strongly and you have evidence that an individual person or as a group there is improvement happening, and there is competency and care level and work ethic and values are in place, then absolutely, continuity has real value,” Cherington said. “If you make changes then there is some opportunity cost with that. You’ve got to kind of get up to speed again, with whatever that change is. So I think if all those other things are in place then continuity has real value. And, at times, continuity is not the right choice. It’s case by case. It just depends.”

1. Right call on Paul: It also has been suggested that Cherington doesn’t deserve any credit for drafting Paul Skenes, who broke a franchise record for strikeouts by a rookie in his most recent start.

Surprisingly, Skenes wasn’t a lock for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft — even after he led LSU to the College World Series championship.

In fact, his former Tigers teammate, Dylan Crews, was considered the favorite to go first by most talent evaluators. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com had the Pirates taking outfielder Wyatt Langford with the top pick in their final mock draft.

Eight players from that draft have reached the majors, including five of the top seven picks. Langford, the No. 4 pick, made the Opening Day roster for the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers. Crews, who went No. 2, made his debut last month with the Washington Nationals.

But Skenes made his major-league debut 10 months later, started for the National League in the All-Star Game and is a candidate for NL rookie of the year and Cy Young awards.

Cherington deserves credit for making the right call.

2. Scheduling Skenes: The Pirates have been tight-lipped about Skenes’ schedule, having him pitch every six or seven days to avoid having to shut him down before the season ends.

Cherington said he would make more starts — plural — this season, though his next one won’t be against the Kansas City Royals this weekend at PNC Park.

“We believe there’s benefit for him and for us that he finishes the season, that he continues to pitch and feels like an active member of the pitching staff to the very end, or as close to the very end as possible,” Cherington said. “We’ll see exactly what that schedule means. Fully anticipate his next start probably happening in St. Louis, and we’ll take it from there.”

There’s a reason the Pirates don’t leave such decisions up to Skenes, who reminded everyone that he’s only 22 and doesn’t feel tired even though this is his first time pitching through September.

“I’m conditioned to throw a lot of innings, I think, and obviously they’re going to take it more on the cautious side,” Skenes said. “That’s going to be something that I strive for as long as I’m playing this game, to be able to do more than what I’m actually going to do, probably.”

3. A positive pick: Speaking of No. 1 picks, Cherington said he got “very strong” feedback on reports about 2024 first-round choice Konnor Griffin from Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla.

Cherington said the program for the Pirates’ draft picks ended earlier this week, so they will have a break before the start of the fall instructional camp in October.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Griffin, the No. 9 overall pick, was the Gatorade national player of the year and is considered a potential five-tool talent who can play multiple positions.

“He got time at short and in center and looked really good in both spots,” Cherington said. “Got some at-bats, got to see some professional pitching, got some hits. Fit in well with his teammates. No other surprises, so all positives.”

4. Will Hayes be back?: One of the most disappointing players for the Pirates has been 2023 NL Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who was voted their team MVP last season by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America and expected to serve as a franchise cornerstone.

That Hayes hasn’t been doing any baseball activities while on the injured list with a back injury isn’t a good sign.

While Cherington has expressed optimism that Hayes has a better understanding of what’s causing his lingering back issues, he said the Pirates are taking a conservative approach with a focus on strength training and specific exercises in an effort to avoid surgery.

“We feel good in the sense that he feels good and more clear on what’s going on and what he can do about it,” Cherington said. “He’s working really hard on his training on a series of exercises that are prescribed. I’m not saying this because I’m compare myself to any athlete in any way, but a simple rule with backs is that they bother you when they bother you and they are limiting, and I think that was absolutely the case this year with Ke’Bryan. It was limiting in terms of his performance.”

Despite what Cherington termed “good progress,” it doesn’t sound like Hayes will return to play in any more major-league games this season.

“Really want to make sure that’s locked into a good spot,” Cherington said. “If it leads to games in a way that makes sense, great. If for some reason it doesn’t and it makes sense just to prioritize the training, then that’s OK, too. I think we’re at a point where we want to put Ke’Bryan — and Ke’Bryan wants to put himself — in the best position going into the offseason to continue this work, and then ultimately into spring training next year.”

5. Will Cutch return?: After becoming only the second Pirates player to have eight or more seasons with 20 home runs, Andrew McCutchen made it clear he wants to come back for another season with the Pirates at age 38.

And not just to chase more milestones.

“I would love to win, too,” McCutchen said. “I haven’t done that in a long time, and I haven’t been in the playoffs in a while here and it would be nice to do it here and we’re a special group of guys. We’re a special team. It’s there. Just got to piece the puzzles.”

Cherington left the door open for McCutchen to return as designated hitter, given his .338 on-base percentage, .770 OPS and 20 homers with 50 RBIs on a one-year, $5 million contract, and promised to have a conversation after the season is over.

“He’s proving again this year that he can hit and hit at a level that helps us win games,” Cherington said. “I would just repeat what I said before: We would love to find a way for Andrew to finish his career in a Pirates uniform.”

That’s a vote of confidence by Cherington that Pirates fans can get behind.