Derek

Shelton

It’s a pretty interesting wrinkle for the Pirates as Strom played a pivotal role last decade in building the Astros juggernaut before a three-year stint with the Diamondbacks. He brings a wealth of experience to a talented Pittsburgh staff headlined by the tandem of Paul Skenes and Jared Jones with top prospect Bubba Chandler on the doorstep of the big leagues.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton has also received a one-game ban. Perdomo will begin serving his suspension during Wednesday afternoon’s series finale.

Cherington wouldn’t share the specifics of the deal with reporters, but Shelton will be remaining at the helm for the Pirates beyond the 2023 campaign. There should be an official announcement in the coming days. He’s led Pittsburgh to a an impressive 14-7 start to open the year.

The Pirates had the second-worst record in all of baseball last season -- and had the best odds of winning that top overall selection (tied with the Nationals and Athletics) at 16.5 percent. The 18 teams that did not make the postseason were all eligible, with chances anywhere between 16.5 percent and the Brewers at 0.2 percent. The first six picks of the round were determined by the lottery and are as follows: 1) Pirates, 2) Nationals, 3) Tigers , 4) Rangers , 5) Twins, 6) Athletics. The Twins, who jumped up from the 13th pick into the top five, were the biggest movers. The Athletics were the biggest losers in the draft, falling from third to sixth.

It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement on Cherington’s part, it was more of a “he’s under contract for next year and will be back” type of situation. The Pirates have struggled to a miserable 46-72 record this season and Shelton has posted a 126-214 mark during his three seasons at the helm in Pittsburgh.

Hanrahan, who spent parts of four seasons with the Pirates as high-leverage reliever from 2009-2012, was the organization’s pitching coach at Triple-A Indianapolis this past season. The 40-year-old was originally hired as a minor-league pitching coach back in 2017.

Rabelo will take over for Joey Cora, who was let go last month after five seasons with the organization. The 41-year-old former major leaguer joined manager Derek Shelton’s staff as an assistant hitting coach back in 2020 and served as the team’s big-league field coordinator last year.

Haines comes via the Brewers, where he was recently let go after three seasons on the job. He’ll replace Rick Eckstein with his new team.

Cora, the older brother of Red Sox manager Alex Cora, has been with the Pirates for the last five seasons since 2017. He’s the latest long-time assistant to be let go as the club transitions into an extensive rebuild under general manager Ben Cherington.

Eckstein has been with the team dating back to the 2019 season under former manager Clint Hurdle. It makes sense that the Pirates would want a fresh start, though the team’s poor hitting has more to do with personnel than anything Eckstein did. The Pirates are dead-last in the majors in OPS and runs scored this season.