Pittsburgh Pirates Set To Introduce New Manager Derek Shelton

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 22: Derek Shelton #9 of the Minnesota Twins poses for a portrait during Minnesota Twins Photo Day on February 22, 2019 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 22: Derek Shelton #9 of the Minnesota Twins poses for a portrait during Minnesota Twins Photo Day on February 22, 2019 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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The Pittsburgh Pirates are set to officially start a new on field era on Wednesday morning when they introduce their new manager at PNC Park

At 11:30 a.m. E.T. on Wednesday afternoon the Pittsburgh Pirates will officially start a new era. As their offseason of change continues, the team is set to officially announce Derek Shelton as the 41st manager in franchise history on Wednesday morning.

On November 27th the Pirates officially hired Shelton as the team’s new manager. This came just two days short of being exactly one month after the club fired Clint Hurdle after a nine-year run as the team’s manager.

The 49-year-old Shelton comes to Pittsburgh after spending the 2019 season as the Minnesota Twins’ bench coach. With the Twins, Shelton was American League Manager of the Year Rocco Baldelli‘s right hand man. Working with Baldelli, Shelton played a key role in helping the Twins win the American League Central Division in 2019.

After working in Baldelli’s office in 2019, Shelton is now ready to have his own manager’s office. This offseason Shelton was a hot commodity as he interviewed with the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets in addition to the Pirates. There are few better respected coaches in baseball that have never been a manager than Shelton.

Even though his official introduction is Wednesday morning, Shelton has already been assimilating to Pittsburgh culture. As you can see below, he spent his Tuesday at Primanti Brothers with pitcher Joe Musgrove. He is officially one of us.

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Shelton is just one of multiple strong hires by the Pirates this offseason. Travis Williams and Ben Cherington appear to be home run hires as team president and general manager. Also, Cherington made a strong assistant GM hire on Monday when he brought Steve Sanders with him from Toronto. All signs point toward Shelton being an excellent hire, too.

Welcome to Pittsburgh, Derek!