Report: Hurdle, Huntington to sign contract extensions

Clint Hurdle and Neal Huntington appear to not be on the hot seat despite the Pirates being eight games under .500 and in last place in the Central Division.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported Saturday that Hurdle and Huntington — both in the final guaranteed year of their contracts — are expected to sign contract extensions before the end of the 2017 season.



The Pirates' loss to the Marlins Friday night dropped them to nine games under .500 for the first time since the season finale in 2011, and they are struggling both on the mound and in the field.

The offense is 24th in Major League Baseball in runs and 23rd in batting average. The starting rotation has allowed the third-most hits in the league and its leader, Gerrit Cole, is in the middle of the worst stretch in his career.

Both Gregory Polanco and Andrew McCutchen have failed to produce consistently in 2017.

Polanco is batting .253 with only three home runs and 13 RBI in 45 games. McCutchen, meanwhile, had his average plummet to the Mendoza line on May 24 and was removed from the lineup for a couple of games. His steep regression from his National League MVP season in 2013 continues, though he has excelled since moving to the No. 6 spot.

Hurdle was hired on Nov. 14, 2010 and managed the Pirates to the playoffs in 2013 with 94 regular season wins after 20 consecutive losing seasons. They lost in the decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series against the Cardinals.

Both Hurdle and Huntington received three-year contract extensions following the season.

They returned to the playoffs in 2014 and 2015, both times losing in the Wild Card games to the Giants and Cubs, respectively. But the Pirates won 78 games in 2016, finishing third in the Central Division and 25 games back of the first-place Cubs.

The Pirates lost Starling Marté to an 80-game suspension on April 18, and Jung Ho Kang remains in South Korea without a visa after his DUI arrest during the offseason.

Huntington was named the Pirates' general manager on Sept. 24, 2007 after a 16-year career in baseball operations with the Expos and Indians.