Ben Cherington's latest Derek Shelton promise sounds like a Pirates nightmare

The Pittsburgh Pirates' freefall out of the National League Wild Card race has prompted plenty of warranted speculation about the safety of manager Derek Shelton's job after the 2024 season.

Shelton is in his fifth season as manager of the Pirates, with precious little to show for it. The club has yet to finish better than fourth in the National League Central Division during his tenure, much less produce a winning record in any of his five seasons at the helm. The 2024 campaign marked the second straight season in which the Pirates showed signs of life in what should be an easily winnable division, only to collapse in epic fashion during the second half.

While there has been plenty of recent speculation that Shelton's days in Pittsburgh could be numbered, general manager Ben Cherington told reporters Wednesday that he believes Shelton is "the right person to manage this team in 2025" and that he fully expects Shelton to return to the Pirates next season.

Ben Cherington's Derek Shelton promise sounds like a Pirates nightmare

The irony here is that not only is Shelton not the right person to manage the Pirates in 2025, but Cherington isn't the right person for his job, either. He has been GM for as long as Shelton has been manager and is just as responsible for the team's shortcomings, if not more so.

Cherington was hired to undertake a massive rebuilding effort. Five years later, he has somehow managed to make the organization even worse than how he found it, from the baseball operations department, to the Major League club, all the way down to the farm system. That's not how a rebuild is supposed to work.

Bob Nutting, the club's perennially frugal owner, is ultimately the Pirates' biggest problem. He hasn't given Cherington much in the way of financial resources to make this team any better, but Cherington is undoubtedly the one at fault for making it worse.

Unless Nutting steps in and makes a sweeping organizational change – and don't hold your breath on that one – Pirates fans should brace themselves for at least one more season of disappointment and borderline unwatchable baseball.

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