Hurdle, GM deals not priority
But Nutting lauds stability they provide for top of organziation
BRADENTON, Fla. — With manager Clint Hurdle and general manager Neal Huntington in the final guaranteed year of their contracts, Pirates owner Bob Nutting praised the stability they’ve brought to the organization’s leadership but said contract extensions currently are not a top priority.
Extending Huntington and Hurdle, Nutting said Monday at Pirate City, “is not something that’s top-ofmind for me. It’s not an issue at this point. But they are tremendous talents who I love.”
Huntington and Hurdle are signed through this season with club options for 2018. The current contracts — three years plus a club option — were announced April 5, 2014, at which point Huntington had a year and an option remaining, and Hurdle had seen his 2014 option picked up and a 2015 option added. The timing now is similar, with one guaranteed year left on their deals.
Hurdle, 59, has a 509-462 record in six seasons with the Pirates. He was hired as Pittsburgh’s manager Nov. 14, 2010, less than 18 months after being fired by the Colorado Rockies. Under Hurdle, the Pirates have made three postseason appearances — each began with a wild-card game.
When Hurdle was asked Monday whether a contract extension was a backburner item for him, too, he replied: “I don’t even have a burner. I’m taking care of today. I like where I’m at. I love the organization. I’m humbled to get the opportunity to do it. It’ll get figured out.”
Huntington, 48, joined the Pirates Sept. 25, 2007, as the successor to general manager Dave Littlefield. He spent the previous 16 years in the Montreal and Cleveland organizations. In a text message Monday, Huntington did not directly address extension talk but wrote, “My focus remains on doing my job to the best of my ability and working to bring playoff baseball back to Pittsburgh.”
A lesson drawn from longtime baseball executive John Schuerholz, Nutting said, is the importance of stability and “continuity with the right people” within an organization. Schuerholz, now with the Atlanta Braves, will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame later this year.
“I would like to think part of the goal of stability is it allows someone to make good, long-term decisions in the best interests of the club, without any of the overhang of concern over where they might be,” Nutting said. “You simply work more effectively when you’re focused on what you need to focus on than if you’re distracted by, ‘I wonder where I stand.’
“We have a very solid, cohesive leadership team here with the Pirates. It’s one of the things I’ve believed in with all of our businesses — you need solid leaders who know they have real support.”
Cervelli to return
Catcher Francisco Cervelli was held out of workouts for the second day in a row after noticing discomfort in his right foot.
He said the foot felt “much better” Monday than it did Sunday, when it felt “weird,” and he expects to return to working out today.
Cervelli said he felt “a little burn” on the bottom of his right foot while he was running early at the start of Sunday morning workouts. Part of the problem, he believes, is the custom in-soles he uses for his spikes have not yet arrived. He is not concerned it will be a lingering issue.
“When you catch for 15 years, a lot of things happen,” he said.
Before heading home Monday, Cervelli shot his required scoreboard video material, including Season 2 of “That’s Amore”, a popular love-guru series in which he offers dating advice.
“I was in my robe over there,” Cervelli said. “Very sexy.”
Bell advancing
First baseman Josh Bell (knee) participated in fielding drills Monday on a back field at Pirate City, and he also hit in the cages. He has not yet progressed to facing live pitching.
“He’s getting closer every day,” Hurdle said.