MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 5, 2022

Derek Shelton

Pittsburgh Pirates

Press Conference

Q. The elephant in the room, Bryan Reynolds asked for a trade. What was your reaction, were you surprised?

DEREK SHELTON: I think it's unfortunate when things become public like that. But my expectation or our expectation, Bryan Reynolds is going to be who Bryan Reynolds is on the field.

We've talked continuously about the way he plays the game and the effort he gives. And my conversations with him, I don't think that's going to change. So the business side we will let be handled. But my expectation is Bryan Reynolds will continue to be the player that he is.

Q. Have you had an opportunity to talk with him in any capacity since that was made public?

DEREK SHELTON: Since it was made public, I did not. I talked to him right before it became public and we talked through the some things. And you guys know me, in any instance, any conversation I have with players privately will stay private. But overall, the tone of the conversation was a good conversation.

Q. (Indiscernible) relationship, in 2018 he went through something similar with J.T. Realmuto. Did you talk to him about that? (Indiscernible)?

DEREK SHELTON: I've not talked to Donnie about it. But congratulations to him; I saw he just went to work for the Blue Jays.

But I think in this situation, you know, we're just focusing on what we're doing for next year, how we're building next year and going off that. So had not thought at all about having conversation with Donnie about that.

Q. If he comes back or if he doesn't, either way, are there any spots cemented for next year as far as who plays where? Or is it kind of you have a feeling-out process about how the best fit is going to be?

DEREK SHELTON: I think as we've talked about throughout the three years here, versatility is really important. I mean, we still see Bryan as the center fielder, and Bryan will play center field.

The fact that we have other people that can play on the corners, that can go to center, that's extremely important and we'll continue to make sure we stay versatile.

But I don't think we have any cemented and it does not shock me that you asked the lineup question December 6, but I think versatility is extremely important for us but we see Bryan as the center fielder.

Q. What do you think of the two hitters you've got, (indiscernible) and Ross here in the offseason?

DEREK SHELTON: Really excited about our additions, and appreciate the fact that we were aggressive coming into the offseason in terms of we knew first base was a place that we needed to get better. And we added not only one but we added two.

And the fact that we're able to add Carlos into a situation where we have a ton of young Latin players, especially young Dominican players, I mean if any of you guys have -- I'm sure you've done, if you've done any homework on Carlos Santana, we're talking about an elite human being that we're bringing into our clubhouse that wanted to be in Pittsburgh, was excited to be there.

Getting Ji-man who can facilitate in so many roles, has the ability to hit. We have two guys that probably are going to benefit as much as anybody in the game from the lack of shifting.

So those were important things, and the fact that we were able to go out and probably take away one of our biggest needs early in the offseason by getting the first baseman that we wanted, first base/DH we wanted was really important.

Q. Speaking of young Dominican players, (indiscernible) is playing in the Dominican (indiscernible)?

DEREK SHELTON: The reports we've gotten -- we were fortunate, Donnie Keller (phonetic), our bench coach was just down there. He spent four days in the Dominican. Was able to see Oneil, was able to see Rudy, was able to see Miguel Andujar. And that was really important for us.

And Donnie was rapid texting me during the game about some of the things that Oneil was doing. And the reports have been really good. I've seen some of the videos of him working out. Looks like he's on a mission to be stronger. And I know that's something that we've challenged him on and he's kind of challenged himself on.

But the reports have been really positive. And we were fortunate, not only are we getting good reports but we were able to have one of our coaches hands on down there to be able to see it.

Q. (Indiscernible) getting stronger, anything else you were looking from him specifically this winter what he's doing there?

DEREK SHELTON: I think the biggest thing is consistency. And we talked throughout the end of the offseason as just the pitches he swings at, the pitches he doesn't swing at. We were able to see that improve in September, which is, number one, challenging to do at the Major League level, but it's also encouraging the fact that we know how much better he wants to get. So those are the things.

And then defensively with his footwork. We're talking about an NBA player that plays shortstop. And at times, even though the arm is extremely prolific, his feet wouldn't get underneath him and he would have to maneuver the ball. And we just need to make sure he gets his feet underneath him a little bit better.

Q. Were you guys playing (indiscernible) him in the outfield or rather have him concentrate at short?

DEREK SHELTON: Winter ball?

Q. Winter ball, spring training, is there a time line on introducing that again?

DEREK SHELTON: I think right now we see him as a shortstop. I wouldn't totally dismiss him going to the outfield at some point in spring training. I think I told him at one point I was going to play him, Rudy and Marcano in the outfield one day as a joke, they were all excited. I may have to do it just to make them happy. But overall we see Oneil as a shortstop.

Q. Talked about Ryan's particular style of leadership and how he's very much someone who leads by example. Kind of given how his situation has evolved, is there concern that things might be (indiscernible) into the season if he's a member of the Pirates?

DEREK SHELTON: I don't think that anything is going to affect the way that Bryan Reynolds is as a player, as he is in the clubhouse. He's such a good human being that I don't think any of this stuff will affect our clubhouse at all.

Q. You also are going to be bringing up a lot of rookies next year. (Indiscernible) if he's the same Bryan Reynolds and there isn't a change there, the fact this was out in the open does that maybe have an impact?

DEREK SHELTON: I think the impact on our clubhouse will be that Bryan will continue to be the person he is. So don't think that that will have any impact on our clubhouse.

And with our young players, I think coming to the big leagues is just immersing themselves in the big leagues and immersing themselves in our culture. I want our young players to watch how Bryan Reynolds plays.

I think we've said this time and time again, if we get everyone to play with the aggressiveness and the effort that he plays, we're in really good shape because of how he exemplifies that. Do not expect that to be any of an issue.

Q. How much have you seen of Rodriguez, (indiscernible) former catcher do you think?

DEREK SHELTON: He's really good. No, excited. I think Endy -- when (indiscernible) Harrington came in we talked about identifying, deploying, we talked about developing. This fits in with all of those.

We were able to identify a player and get them. We were able to develop him in our own system. We're talking about a player that was in the DSL. And now we're going to get a chance to deploy him at some point, which the ability to catch, the ability to play second base, the ability to play the corner outfields, we're talking about a rare athlete.

And he just continues to get better as he climbs level to level. Is there still development? Yes. But are we excited that Endy Rodriguez is a Pirate, 100 percent. I think he fits in this good group of young players we have that Pirates players will be excited about.

Q. Do you envision (indiscernible) 120-game catcher or bounce around?

DEREK SHELTON: I don't know yet. I think that's something we'll find out the more he catches. I mean, this is a kid that's played, what, 40 games above the A ball level.

And as excited as we get about things, we also have to temper that and let him get into a situation in Indianapolis this year and let him play and work off that.

Q. With Santana and Choi, do you have one that you prefer over the other defensively? I know you've put eyes on them, they haven't played yet. But do you go into it thinking they're more defensive guys?

DEREK SHELTON: No, there's pre-conceived notion on it. I think to our point we'll get them, get them in camp. The other thing, and Carlos and I talked about, we have to make sure we monitor his body. We are talking about a guy who is 36 years old. And he's logged as many games as anybody in baseball or in the top three or four over the last few years. So we have to do that.

It's going to be interesting once we get Ji-man in to talk to him. Now he's going to be in a situation, he's not on the turf as he was in Tampa and kind of work off that. So it will be more conversational, relationship things as we get into camp.

Q. You mentioned the shift and how that might impact Choi and Santana. Other rule changes with the pitch clock, how do you think those rule changes are going to impact not only the Pirates specifically but the game (indiscernible)?

DEREK SHELTON: I think the one thing for the Pirates that's a positive is we've had a lot of players that have played under these because we're so young.

So we actually have a guideline or a template because of the fact that they have played games, especially for the pitchers, with the pitch clock.

And then the other thing is, I mean, as you guys saw in September, we have some really athletic guys. And the rule changes are based to make the game more athletic, to make the game flow. So we need to try to figure out how we can take advantage of that to be able to score more runs.

Q. Do you anticipate maybe a role or maybe your approach being a little different this year whenever (indiscernible) past couple of years we've had to talk about run-off, the development here, getting guys like Endy and Henry up in the majors. And this year you're actually going to have them up here. Does that maybe change some things?

DEREK SHELTON: Well, with those two guys, specifically, they're going to start in the minor leagues, but I think we're seeing a larger chunk of that core group of development guys that are in the big leagues now, which is really important for us.

And like we talked about last year, the difference between Triple-A and the big leagues is probably the biggest it's ever been.

We were fortunate enough that we were able to get a lot of reps for those guys at the Major League level this year, and I think we just need to continue to build off that to get better.

But the other portion of this is it's an exciting group of players. I mean, they do things that a lot of young players can't. So that should provide for a lot of entertainment.

Q. Jason Bay (indiscernible) is his primary position outfield? I think of Cruz at short and young guys at second. Is that where would you like to see him maybe set down roots?

DEREK SHELTON: I don't think we've had a place where Bay is going to set down roots. We feel he can play second and play short. I played him one game in center late in the season just to do, just we had talked about it.

But we feel that his versatility is something that's really important. And we will continue to build off that. Depending how we'll build lineups, which Rob will probably ask a lineup question in a second, depending how we build our lineups, the flexibility to move him.

If you look at our lineup, I think there's one guy that probably plays one primary position, and he actually played short a little bit last year. But other than that, these guys have the ability to bounce around.

Q. Here's a lineup question for you. You mentioned before with Santana, giving him down time. Do you look at DH as kind of like a half day off, you know what I mean? If you need to get a guy off his feet a little bit, is DH an option? Or if he's down Santana's down, is he just down?

DEREK SHELTON: DH, I don't know if it's half day off. It's more how they prepare going into the day, what they do that day, what they do the night before.

And one of things that Carlos and I talked about, and what we try to do with our guys, is let them know the night before if they're going to be in the lineup. Those will be the conversations that we will have just to make sure that he knows how to prepare going into it.

Q. (Indiscernible) scoreboard, the rule changes do you see yourself being more aggressive, push the envelope more?

DEREK SHELTON: I would hope so. I would hope that we would use our skill set. We've talked at times in baseball about how you have to make sure you cater to your skill set. And we see other sports, specifically football, that does a much better job of that.

But because of the fact we're young, athletic and we have had players that have played within this system, I would hope that would be the way we trend towards during the season.

Q. I talked a few days with Baker about something related to that. He talked about how you're kind of developed ways to score one run now, that that's important in the system. And you see (indiscernible) stealing, like, 160 bases, whatever it is. Is that your style of game, is that kind of what you've been waiting to implement in a lot of ways?

DEREK SHELTON: I think your style or the manager's style of game is built on your personnel. I think we've done a good job in the minor leagues looking at what our personnel has.

And Bake has deployed his staff to make sure that we're using that skill set. Like you said, in Altoona, we were able to do that, but Altoona had some specific rules changes that allowed that. That's fine because that allows us to talk.

And we had Kyron with us late in the year. One of the main reasons Kyron was with us was for him to sit down with Donnie and I and to walk through how he managed the game and what he used because we don't have the ability to do that because we haven't run the game that way.

There's certain factors, but I do really appreciate that in player development in the minor leagues, Bake has outlined with conversations with the Major League staff, hey, what should we do, how should we use it.

And then some of it just comes down to what your players are. If we have a bunch of guys that stand in the box and try to hit homers, you're not going to be able to steal 160 bases there. We had a really athletic group there.

I think the other thing that we talked about is not only making good base stealers but good base runners to try to create that first-to-third, second-to-home type of atmosphere.

Q. Mitch Keller took a nice step forward. What are you looking forward to now?

DEREK SHELTON: Consistency. I think the one thing we've talked about with Mitch was he was a prospect for a long time. And sometimes when prospects come to the big leagues, you automatically expect him to be the guy you want them to be and it takes time.

And we saw Mitch go through that process. And I think it was very humbling for him to go through that process. But it also made him work really hard. We got about a third of the way through this season this year. We identified some things in terms of not only with his delivery but with his pitch mix that we could go to.

And we saw a lot of consistency in what he was. The next step has continued to build off that consistency.

The one place -- and I think I said at the end of the year I was more proud of Mitch than any player I've been around, is every time he took the mound he believed he was the best pitcher in the game. I think that's something we have to let him continue to grow and build off and have that confidence. That's really important.

Q. Choi said he didn't think the elbow surgery was going to be a very big deal. He really downplayed it. Are the reports good so far on his rehab?

DEREK SHELTON: Yes, his rehab has gone good. We were happy with how the surgery came out. And just text messaging with him he feels like he's in good shape. Doesn't feel like he's going to be behind at all. It will be once he gets into the states and we're able to get eyes on him, get him into camp, we'll be aware of it. But from the conversations I've had with him he feels really good about it.

Q. (Indiscernible) why do you think those jobs are hard and why do you think there's so much turnover?

DEREK SHELTON: Why there's so much turnover is one of the easiest things to do is just to blame the hitting coach. And the reason it's hard is because anybody that's ever picked up a bat thinks they can be a hitting coach.

And because of that, everybody has an opinion on it. And the building and establishing -- the establishing and then the maintaining of relationships with a game that's based on failure is extremely hard.

And that's why you see places where the longevity of the hitting coach and the consistency of the hitting coach keeps getting extended because, number one, they're able to maintain but they're also able to change. And the game has changed.

I mean, five years ago, six years ago, when I was a hitting coach you didn't have to be a movement specialist. Now you have to be some sort of movement specialist or you have to have someone on your staff that's a movement specialist. You have to be able to let them have conversations about what hitters are doing.

And then I also think hitters know a lot more about what their body is and what the angles are and the things that we can measure. And so it's a challenging thing. And I think we're really fortunate that we have Andy Haines.

And it's really easy to critique guys, but the fact that we are going to maintain consistency is really important.

Q. How do you like to interact with guys who have their private (indiscernible)? Has that dynamic changed over the years?

DEREK SHELTON: That dynamic has changed. I think years ago, and I can speak from experience, you were extremely sensitive that they were going elsewhere, almost like it was an indictment that you didn't have the information to provide.

But it's become such a norm now, and I think it's one of Andy's strengths that he builds relationships with those external guys and we learn about what they're teaching because ultimately it's about the player.

If the player is in a good position and understands what they're doing, then we're going to get the best for him.