Bench coach with Twins would be fit

Shelton’s background, skills worth a close look as the hunt continues

Sam Fuld isn’t interested. Jason Kendall is, although the Pirates have shown no interest in having their former catcher return to their dugout. Oakland Athletics coaches Mark Kotsay and Ryan Christenson also are in the mix.

As the Pirates find themselves in the thick of a managerial search, one name that hasn’t gotten a ton of attention that probably should: Derek Shelton, the 49-yearold bench coach of the Minnesota Twins. He, too, will interview for the gig.

Shelton, much like Clint Hurdle when the Pirates were winning, offers an interesting blend of old and new schools of baseball thought. They’re also similar in age. Hurdle was 53 when the Pirates hired him Nov. 14, 2010. Coincidences don’t stop there. The fall Hurdle was hired, he interviewed with the New York Mets, the same as Shelton has done. No matter who takes over, that manager will inherit a team that pitched and fielded poorly.

The 2010 Pirates had a worst-in-baseball ERA of 5.00. The group this season pitched to a mark of 5.18 that was fifth from the bottom and among the worst ERAs in franchise history.

The two clubs were either last (2010) or next-to-last (2019) among all 30 MLB teams in fielding percentage.

Those things, however, are merely happenstance. What makes Shelton a smart fit is much more involved. With that in mind, here’s what you should know:

1. Shelton and Pirates general manager Neal Huntington have a history together. Shelton was the Cleveland Indians’ hitting coach under manager Eric Wedge from 2005-09. (Wedge interviewed in Pittsburgh before Hurdle was hired.)

Huntington worked in Cleveland’s system for 10 years before coming to Pittsburgh, advancing from assistant director of minor league operations to one of the top lieutenant positions under then-general manager Mark Shapiro. During Shelton’s time with the Indians, Huntington was a special assistant to Shapiro, meaning he and Shelton probably dealt with each other quite a bit.

2. Shelton has also seen how one of baseball’s best small-market teams operates.

If the Pirates are trying to become a little more like the Tampa Bay Rays — hold the Tyler Glasnow/Austin Meadows jokes, please — Shelton would be a terrific starting point.

From 2010-16, under both Joe Maddon and Kevin Cash, Shelton served as hitting coach in Tampa, taking note of how the Rays identified talent and developed players. The Pirates also have a builtin reference for Shelton in Chris Archer, who pitched for the Rays when Shelton was there.

3. Given what Shelton has done recently, he could be the perfect guy to improve the Pirates’ power.

Pittsburgh tied Colorado and Washington for the best batting average (.265) in the National League in 2019; however, only the Miami Marlins (146) hit fewer home runs than the Pirates (163).

The Twins this season set the Major League Baseball single-season home-run record with 307. They also experienced an insane yearover-year jump of 141 homers, going from 166 in 2018 to that 307 this year. What did they do? Can it be implemented with the Pirates?

4. Before the Twins hired Shelton as bench coach Nov. 6, 2017, he was Toronto’s quality control coach. That might have given Shelton some experience the Pirates could use. Talking to reporters upon his hiring in Minnesota, Shelton described the job as a bit of everything, with a focus on analytics and development.

“The job description was fairly fluid,“Shelton said. ”Day-to-day, there was analytical stuff and advance scouting reports. I helped with hitting because that’s my background, but I integrated into defense more than I had at the major league level.

“And there were relationships with the minor league coordinators about developmental roles. The job itself was ever-changing, and I looked at it as growth for me.”

Regardless of personnel moves, the Pirates need to fix is how players transition from Class AAA to the majors.

5. In an August 2018 interview with FanGraphs, Shelton expounded on his philosophy as far as analytics and what he has learned from where he has been.

“One thing the Rays do a very good job of — especially between their major league coaching staff and the front office — is having a very open dialogue. There’s kind of a no-ego relationship where you’re free to ask questions.

“You have to manage to your personnel. The type of team you have will kind of dictate how you play.

“If you’re in a leadership role, you have to continue to learn, and that includes having a willingness to go outside your own box. If you don’t, you won’t be making yourself the best coach, or the best manager, that you’re capable of being.”