Pittsburgh Pirates should reunite with this familiar face as their next manager

The Pittsburgh Pirates should look for a new manager this offseason. Derek Shelton failed his first test as a Major League manager, coming well short of finishing just .500 after winning 76 games in 2023. Shelton had a full season of Oneil Cruz to work with, as well as mostly full seasons from Nick Gonzales, Joey Bart, Jared Jones, Paul Skenes, and many others who did not make a positive impact last year. He was still unable to build on 2023's campaign.

There are many potential managerial candidates out there who could fill his role, including former Pirates players. One former Bucco player who has plenty of experience, both as a manager and coach for multiple teams (including the Pirates), might be the best potential Derek Shelton replacement. That would be Jeff Banister.

Jeff Banister was a 25th-round pick as a catcher by the Pirates in 1986, and has the unique distinction of being one of the few players in baseball history to bat 1.000 throughout his entire career. On July 23, 1991, in a game against the Atlanta Braves, Banister came in to pinch hit for the pitcher, Doug Drabek, and hit a single. That would end up being Banister's one and only career plate appearance in the Major Leagues.

After retiring in 1993, Banister became a minor-league manager in the Pittsburgh Pirates' system until 1998. Banister would then move into a Major League field coordinator role for the Bucs for the next four seasons. After '02, Banister became the Pirates' minor-league field coordinator until 2010. Late into the '10 season, the Pirates moved Banister back into the Major League dugout, asking him to serve as the team's bench coach.

Banister was the Pirates' bench coach for some of their best seasons, working under Clint Hurdle from 2011 through 2014. However, he left the team after 2014 and became the manager of the Texas Rangers in 2015. In his first season as manager, he led the team to an 88-74 record, winning Manager of the Year in his managerial rookie year. He then brought the team to a 94-win campaign the following season in 2016. 

Jeff Banister deserves second MLB chance as Pirates' manager

Unfortunately, the Rangers would be a below-.500 team over the next two seasons. Banister was fired before the end of the 2018 campaign. Granted, it wasn't entirely his fault that the Rangers performed poorly from 2017 to 2018. They were entering a rebuild, trading key pieces of the roster, letting free agents walk, and watching aging former stars begin to wind their careers down. Either way, Banister has found a new home as the Arizona Diamondbacks' bench coach. This is a role he has served in under Torey Lovullo since the start of the 2022 season.

The Pirates are more than familiar with Banister. He was a minor-leaguer in their system for seven seasons, spent time as a coach or manager for the organization for 16 years, won a Manager of the Year award with an above-.500 record, and has worked as a bench coach during two of the most successful years of two franchises' histories (the Pirates from 2013-2014 and the Diamondbacks from 2023-present). Banister should be the Pirates' top choice to replace Derek Shelton if they choose to part ways with their current manager.