2 urgent changes Pirates still need to make after deserved Derek Shelton firing

Fire Ben Cherington and His Pirates Staff of “Analytical Gurus”

Ben Cherington took over as the general manager of the team in November 2019. The Bucs were just four seasons removed from a 98-win season and two seasons removed from finishing over .500. However, he made the correct decision to enter a full rebuild. Cherington traded away players like Joe Musgrove, Starling Marte, Josh Bell and Jameson Taillon to jumpstart this process. Only two players in the return package for those two players currently have a place on the major-league roster.

The Pirates have not finished with more than 76 wins in his tenure. The 2020 shortened COVID season saw Pittsburgh finish 19-41 with a .317 winning percentage. After drafting Nick Gonzales seventh overall that summer, the team earned the No. 1 overall pick in the ensuing draft. Cherington took Henry Davis. As of today, Davis has not developed into a major-league hitter.

The next two seasons saw Pittsburgh lose 101 and 100 games. Cherington and his team selected Termarr Johnson fourth overall in July 2022. Johnson, now 20, has never hit over .244 in a minor-league season, nor has he ever eclipsed the 20 home run or 60 RBI plateau. As of this writing, the second baseman has a slash line of .245/.385/.403 with four home runs, nine RBI and two doubles in 26 games with Double-A Altoona this season.

The lone first-round selection Cherington has undoubtedly succeeded in making came in 2023 with the selection of Paul Skenes. The Pirates picked first overall after winning the first ever MLB Draft Lottery, jumping up two spots. Even BC could not screw up when picking a generational pitcher. Last summer, the Bucs took 17-year-old Konnor Griffin. While Griffin has shown early promise in Low-A Bradenton, it remains way too early to render a verdict.

Cherington has also failed to sign any impactful free agents to multi-year deals. The Bucs have not handed out a multi-year deal to a free agent in almost a decade. The most expensive free-agent deal in the Cherington era came in the 2024 offseason when Aroldis Chapman inked a one-year, $10.5 million deal.

In a year where both him and manager Derek Shelton emphasized the word “winning,” the general manager has done more harm than help. Cherington’s big offseason acquisitions may have set the team back. Tommy Pham, a 37-year-old, and Adam Frazier, a 33-year-old, both signed low-money, one-year contracts this winter. Pham has a slash line of .183/.259/.221 with no home runs, six RBI and 33 strikeouts. Frazier has a .229/.293/.314 slash line, two homers and 10 RBI.

The role players BC acquired have also been abysmal. Enmanuel Valdez had to become a starter due to injuries. Valdes carries a .209/.294/.363 slash line, two home runs and 12 RBI into the weekend. Cherington traded for outfielder Alexander Canario this spring. Canario has been the worst of them all, slashing .122/.200/.195 with one home run, two RBI and 11 strikeouts in 41 at bats. Shelton hit Canario fifth in the order Wednesday afternoon.

The biggest acquisition of Cherington’s “win-now” winter came in the form of Spencer Horwitz. The Bucs traded away pitcher Luis Ortiz and a pair of prospects for the first baseman. Horwitz has not yet played a game for the big-league club as Cherington acquired him knowing he had a chronic wrist injury. In his ongoing rehab assignment, Horwitz has gone 2-for-16 with a pair of walks in Double-A Altoona. Ben Cherington only knows rebuilding and cannot construct a winner. His firing would cut off the second head of the hydra.