North Shore Nine

There has been a lot of speculation and blame, mostly from fans, aimed at both Ben Cherington in the front office, as well as Derek Shelton as Manager. People are upset stating the “5-year plan” is a bust and the Pirates are nowhere near where they should be. Furthermore, admis a long losing streak and as the NL leader in one run losses, fans are questing the management of the day to day of the club. While it appears unlikely either will be fired, there are a few options for each position that could be a benefit to a club, even one with the restrictions that Pittsburgh has.

Manager:

Clayton McCullough:
McCullough is the 44-year-old 1st base coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was drafted in 1998 in the 47th round of the draft, but did not sign instead attending East Carolina University. He was drafted again in 2002 this time in the 22nd round. He spent 4 seasons in the minors before retiring from playing, then joining his collegiate team as an unpaid coach. McCullough then spent 7 seasons in the Toronto Blue Jays system working in both rookie ball and A ball. In 2015 he was hired as the Los Angeles Dodgers Minor League Field Coordinator before being promoted to first base coach in 2021. He has been a “bridesmaid never a bride” having interviewed for the coaching vacancies for the Mets, Royals, Giants and Guardians. He has a number of years working for one of the “premier” organizations in the sport and has been nearly hired multiple times already. With his experience and age, he could be a nice fit for a mostly youthful Bucs squad.

George Lombard:
Lombard is a former 2nd round pick of the Atlanta Braves, who spent time playing with four different MLB teams. After he was released he joined the Boston Red Sox as a hitting coach for their low A squad. He then spent two seasons as the manager of the Red Sox FCL team, followed by a promotion to their Roving Outfielder and Baserunning Coordinator where he spent 3 seasons. Lombard then went to Atlanta where he held the same position. He only spent a year in Atlanta before the Dodgers hired him as their first base coach. He spent five years in that position before taking the Bench Coach job in Detroit where he has spent the last four seasons. Another younger manager who has some MLB experience, along with a plethora of coaching experience. He is also very familiar with the culture of winning as during his time with the Dodgers they went to three world series, winning one of them. He could bring a fresh perspective to the organization having worked for three of the best ones in the sport.

Don Mattingly:
Mattingly is a very well know commodity. He had a very good professional career with the New York Yankees, he was a 6-time All-Star, 9-time GG winner as well as the 1985 MVP. He amassed over two thousand hits, two hundred home runs and over a thousand RBI in his career. After Mattingly retired from the game he spent the next seven years as the Yankees special instructor for Spring Training. He followed this as their full-time Hitting coach for three years. When he didn’t get the Manager job for the Yankees in 2008 he went to the Dodgers where he served as Hitting coach and Special Assignment Coach. Then in 2010 he was named the Manager of the Dodgers, he managed them for five years followed by seven years as the manager of the Miami Marlins. In 2022 he mutually left the Marlins and went to Toronto where he ahs spent two years as the bench coach. Mattingly had a lot of success with the Dodgers, however he was unable to manifest the same success with the smaller market Marlins. He could be a good fit for the Pirates with their current group of talented players, but based on his Marlins record he might not be the best fit of the group. He would be a big name hire for the club with his decades of on and off the field experience, but his inability to have a winning record in 7 seasons in Miami makes one wary.

Mark DeRosa:
DeRosa is a pure Dark Horse option for the Pirates potential managerial positions. He spent part of 15 seasons in the Majors playing for 8 different teams. He was never a player who won awards or recognition, instead was a grinder, a gun for hire, going team to team playing his best and trying to help the team win. Since his retirement he has not spent his time coaching like the others mentioned, he instead has worked as a broadcaster for MLB network. His only coaching experience came in 2023 when he managed the USA team in the World Baseball Classic, winning silver. This may not be the best fit, an Ex-MLB player who has basically no managing experience. That being said considering what Pirates fan say on a daily basis, maybe this is the exact type of hire they expect.

Terry Francona:
If he is looking to get back to managing, and if he is healthy, this is the best potential option for the Pirates. He spent nearly a decade playing in a mostly journeyman after being a 1st round pick of the then Montreal Expos. He managed the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians/Guardians having a managerial record of 1,950-1,672. Furthermore, he has won a pair of World Series Championships as well as three Manager of the Year awards. Tim Kurkjian stated on a Cleveland sports show earlier this year he believes that Francona will be back managing in a year and half. Which might make next season a year too soon if there ends up being an opening in Pittsburgh, but if there is then the first call should go to Francona, even if it is to just check in.

Fredi Gonzalez:
Gonzalez is another person with a lot of managerial experience, with no playing experience. Gonzalez spent 3.5 years managing the Florida Marlins, followed by a little over five seasons managing the Atlanta Braves. One issues, is that he was fired from both jobs mid-season. Though he has never spent significant time without a job. Even when fired by Atlanta in May, that November he was hired back by the Miami Marlins as a third base coach. He spent three years there before joining the Baltimore Orioles as a coach in 2020. The positives here is he has been in baseball as a coach or manager almost full-time since 1999. He also has experience winning with a low market franchise. The issue is he was fired mid-season, as mentioned, from both his managerial jobs, which is never a good sign for a manager. Again, not the best option for a potential opening, however it is someone that is work giving a shot too.

Craig Albernaz:
Albernaz is another young up and coming coach, being only 41 years old. He has a lot of minor league playing experience. He spent eight seasons as a catcher in the minors after being signed as a undrafted Free Agent, spending 5 of those seasons at the AAA level. From 2015 to 2019 he spent time coaching various teams in various leagues. He started in 2015 in the Appalachian League as a coach following that as a coach in the New York Penn league in 2016. In 2017 he was the third base coach for the Durham Bulls, with a mid-season switch to become manger of his previous New York Penn League team. In 2018 he became a Manager in the Midwest League, wining Manager of the Year. Then in 2019 he was a minor league fielding coordinator for the Tampa Bay Rays. That offseason the San Fransisco Giants hired him as their bullpen and catching coach. He stayed in that position until the start of the 2024 season when he was hired as the Guardians Bench Coach. Another young coach who is up and coming in managerial circles. As a coach with lots of bullpen and catching coaching experience that might be a good fit for what the Pirates need in the top level of the organization.

Kai Correa:
Correa was a collegiate baseball player who after his four year playing stayed and coached as his school. He had multiple rules at Puget Sound University, after four years he moved to University of Northern Colorado where he did a similar slew of jobs. In 2018 he joined the Cleveland Indians as the infield coach of the AZL Indians. The following year he was the defensive coordinator. In 2020 he moved to the San Fransisco Giants as their Bench coach and infield instructor. In 2023 he was Interim Manager for three games going 1-2. For the 2024 season he went back to Cleveland being named as their major league field coordinator. The benefits here is his strength coaching infielders, something the Pirates collect like Pokémon Cards. Furthermore, he is considering an up-and-coming baseball mind who very much a player coach who has done extensive work on social media getting baseball to the masses. A young charismatic Manager with a focus on infield work could be exactly who the Pirates need to manager their squad. The downside is the limited experience at the Major League level, while he has some it is not nearly as much as most that are on this list.

Don Kelly:
The not only local, but internal, option for if the Pirates move on from Shelton. Kelly grew up just outside of Pittsburgh and went to College in downtown Pittsburgh at Point Park College, now University. He was selected in the 8th round of 2001 by the Detroit Tigers. His debut ended up being with the Pittsburgh Pirates amassing 27 at bats over 25 games before being sent down. He then spent time in the Detroit Tigers organization playing in multiple seasons. He finished his career with two years in Miami before being DFA and then retiring. In 2017 Detroit hired him as a scout and assistant of player development. The next season he was a Major League scout for the Tigers before going to Houston as a first base coach. Since then he has been the Bench Coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Another young coach who has very intimate knowledge of the Pirates organization who has been considering for managerial jobs in the past. The issue is being part of this current group that if changes happen it will likely be across the board, meaning Kelly will be more likely to be getting a job elsewhere.

General Manager:

Sarah Gelles:
Starting the GM search where the Manager search ended, with the internal candidate. Gelles was at one point an intern for the Pittsburgh Pirates as well as the Baltimore Orioles. In 2012 she became the Coordinator of Baseball Analytics for the Orioles. In 2015 she was promoted to Director of Analytics and Major League Contracts. She then joined the Houston Astros in 2018. In 2019 she was promoted there to Director of Research and Development. Before the 2024 season she rejoined the Pittsburgh Pirates as an Assistant General Manager. Before the Pirates hired Gelles this past offseason The Athletic listed her as one of the “12 Potential Stars in Management and Coaching”. Gelles could end up a very good hire/promotion for the Pirates. She is very familiar with the Pirates system, and what needs to change, if allowed. She has also spent time with two others well regarded Front Offices. She could be an option that allows for the quickest changes as she likely knows where the problems internally lie.

Preston Mattingly:
A father son combination in Pirates Management, it could be a possibility. Mattingly is one of the sons of Don and Kim, the former of which was discussed in the Manager search section. Preston was a first-round pick in the 2006 Amateur Draft. He struggles to make his way through the minors finally being released in March of 2012. He then went and got his degree from Lamar University, while playing basketball for them. After graduation in 2016 he worked for the San Diego Padres as a manager of scouting for a trio of years. Followed by two years as Coordinator of Major League Advance Scouting and Game Planning, say that five times fast. In fall of ’21 the Philadelphia Phillies fired Mattingly as their Director of Player Development, promoting him in the winter of ’23 to Assistant General Manager. He has the unique experience of being a high draft pick who did not pan out, as well as being the son of the best players of a generation, and a solid manager. At 36 he is one of the youngest potential replacements, and one who might have the unique mixture of old school knowledge and new wave thinking that could put the Pirates over the top.

Ehsan Bokhari:
Bokhari has been the Assistant General Manager of the Chicago Cubs since Fall of ’21. Before that he has spent time in the Houston Astros organization as Director of Research and Development, Senior Director of Player Evaluation and Senior Director of Strategic Decision Making. Before that he had also spent four years in L.A. working for the Dodgers as a Senior Analyst. Bokhari has some of the most experience on the list in the Assistant GM role, and for a division rival as well. He doesn’t quiet have some of the other experience that some of the candidates have, which only matters if Bob Nutting thinks it does. Regardless, could be a good option for the Pirates with his work history.

Ross Fenstermaker:
Fenstermaker played one collegiate season at the University of California-Davis in pitching in four games of relief. However, the 5.1 innings he threw were attached to 11 walks and 16 runs 11 earned, ergo his short career playing. However, after graduation he was an intern for the Seattle Mariners. In 2011 he became professional scout which lasted until 2018 when the Rangers made him the Director of Pro Scouting, this was followed by Senior Director of Professional and Internation Scouting. Then in 2021 he became the Vice President/Assistant General Manager of Player Development and International Operations. Another potential good fit for the Pirates organization. Has spent a long time as a scout and has a number of years’ experience as an AGM with a focus on player development and international operations. Those are two big pieces of the puzzle for the Pirates moving forward under a new regime. Also, considering the Texas Rangers just won the World Series last year clearly something is going right in that front office.

Anirudh Kilambi:
Kilambi was hired winter of 2021 by the Philadelphia Phillies as their Assistant General Manager. He has spent the previous seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays in a variety of roles within their executive system, including Assistant Director of Baseball Research and Development. He had received high praise and accolades from those in the industry before moving to the Phillies. Similar to the last candidate he has a number of years’ experience in the AGM role as well as in the Tampa Organization who always gets heavy praise for their player development, on the small market budget as well. Between that experience and that in his current role for the cross-state rival, he could bring a fresh view to an organization desperately in need of it.

Kevan Graves:
Graves was the interim General Manager after Neil Huntington was fired and before Ben Cherington was hired. He was in the running for the full-time position before Nutting went a different direction. If the position was to again become vacant, they could again look internally for the answer. However, being that he has been with the organization now through two somewhat disastrous turns it seems like he would be a candidate, but maybe not the preferred one. He has been with the organization since 2008 and has been in his current position for nearly a decade of that time. The Pirates would absolutely need to interview him again for the vacancy, but he might be best suited for his current position in the end of the day.

There is no guarantee the Pirates make any changes this offseason, or during the season for that matter. But if the collapse course they are currently on continues then it very well might be time for them to look elsewhere to get this team on the course it appears destined to be on. That being bringing a parade to the North Shore of Pittsburgh, where fans will finally have something to cheer for.