Perrotto: Pirates Apparently Making It up as They Go Along

I have long defended Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton despite the Pittsburgh Pirates’ horrific record during the duo’s five-year tenure.

Though he’ll never say it publicly, Cherington has learned since being hired after the 2019 season that the Pirates’ general manager gig is tough. Winning is far down the list of priorities for owner Bob Nutting as his annual lack of commitment to player payroll is telling.

Since Cherington hired him a few weeks after joining the Pirates, Shelton hasn’t had much talent to manage. Danny Murtaugh could return from the dead for his fifth stint as Pirates manager and not be able to win with the rosters Shelton has been handed.

While many fans felt Cherington and Shelton should have been fired at the end of a second straight 76-86 season last year, I thought Nutting made the right decision. I thought Cherington and Shelton deserved another chance.

Yet after the way the duo handled spring training, which ends Monday, I now have doubts.

First, Carmen Mlodzinski is named the fifth starter. That subject has already been covered in detail by PBN’s Danny Demilio.

It is hard to understand why the Pirates would convert Mlodzinski back to a starter after they decided in 2023 that his best chance to pitch in the major leagues was as a reliever.

That decision has been followed by another head scratcher – Endy Rodriguez is likely to be the Pirates’ first baseman on Thursday when they open the season against the Marlins in Miami.

The idea of Rodriguez playing first base isn’t the problem. He is the best option on the roster.

I would much rather have Rodriguez playing first than Jared Triolo or Adam Frazier. Rodriguez will provide more offense.

However, the way the Pirates handled the first base situation was abysmal. They knew since spring training opened on Feb. 12 that the position was in flux after offseason acquisition Spencer Horwitz underwent hand surgery just before the start of camp.

Yet the Pirates immediately ruled out Rodriguez as an option. The rationale was that they wanted Rodriguez to concentrate on being a catcher after missing almost the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery.

The rationale is hard to understand.

This isn’t Little League and Rodriguez is a 24-year-old man mature enough to know the situation and handle working at both positions. Considering the Pirates’ dearth of first base options, it seemed inevitable that they would need Rodriguez to wear both a first baseman’s mitt and a catcher’s mitt.

So, the Pirates waited until Monday – the last day of the Grapefruit League season – to have Rodriguez play first base. He started and played five innings in a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers.

Now, Rodriguez is expected to jump right in and play first base with almost no preparation. He may not be the full-time first baseman, but again, he is their best option.

To be fair, Rodriguez does have some professional experience at first base. He played the position 45 times in the minor leagues and had two one-inning stints with the Pirates as a rookie in 2023.

However, the Pirates should have had Rodriguez preparing to play first base since Feb. 12. The lack of foresight by the Pirates in the sixth year of an interminable rebuilding project is troubling.

It’s almost as if they are just making it up as they go along.