Hurdle, Pirates agree on four-year contract extension

Clint Hurdle will return for an eighth season as the Pirates' manager after agreeing to a four-year contract extension through 2021, a term that will replace the 2018 club option that had been left on his previous deal.

He essentially confirmed that himself Monday evening after the team's 12-0 romp over the Cubs at PNC Park. Earlier in the day, citing sources, the Post-Gazette's Bill Brink reported the news.

The deal came nearly three months after Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported that Hurdle and general manager Neal Huntington would sign contract extensions before the end of the season, a report independently confirmed by DKPittsburghSports.com.



"I'm going to wait on the organization to get everything they need to get in place," Hurdle said when asked about the reported extension Monday night. "I've made it clear from the beginning that the contract would work out when it was meant to work out. I love working here. I love working in this organization. I'm proud to be a Pirate, and I have been proud to be a Pirate. I want to do everything I can for an opportunity to move forward and bring a world championship to this city. The players in there, we're in a good place. The staff in there, we're in a good place. It would be humbling."

Without a new contract, the Pirates would have faced the decision of whether or not to exercise Hurdle's club option for 2018. Since being hired in 2011, Hurdle has led the Pirates to a 575-534 record, including the club's first postseason appearance since 1992.

The Pirates reached the playoffs for three consecutive seasons from 2013-15, but they advanced past the National League Wild Card once, when they lost to the Cardinals in the 2013 Division Series.

They entered Monday with a 65-72 record and were 10 1/2 games behind the first-place Cubs, likely headed towards a second consecutive losing season after a 78-83 finish in 2016. After last season, Hurdle fired third-base coach/outfield coach Rick Sofield as part of an overhaul of his coaching staff.

The club has been without Gregory Polanco and Francisco Cervelli because of injury for different stretches this season, and Jung Ho Kang has not been able to enter the country because of his DUI conviction in South Korea.

Starling Marte was also suspended for 80 games after testing positive for the anabolic steroid Nandrolone and Jameson Taillon missed five weeks while undergoing treatment for testicular cancer.

With Marte suspended and Kang absent, Hurdle had a roster that did not have a true third outfielder or a proven player on the bench. John Jaso and Adam Frazier platooned in the outfield while rookies such as Max Moroff, Jose Osuna and Gift Ngoepe received at-bats in key situations.

Entering Monday, the Pirates ranked 27th in Major League Baseball with a .244 team batting average and 29th in home runs. Their pitching has also been inconsistent with Gerrit Cole allowing a career-high 27 home runs and having a 4.11 ERA. Ivan Nova hasn't done much better.

Nova has a 4.82 ERA in 22 starts since being named the National League Pitcher of the Month in April. The bullpen, meanwhile, has mostly underperformed, particularly the Pirates' most notable offseason acquisition, Daniel Hudson, who has a 4.53 ERA in 61 appearances.