Pirates' Derek Shelton gushes about pitcher Chris Archer

In his 59-day reign as Pittsburgh Pirates manager, Derek Shelton ate a Primanti’s sandwich with Joe Musgrove. (Musgrove bought.)

Shelton spent some time discussing Broadway songs with pitcher Steven Brault. (“I don’t really know any,” Shelton said.)

At the end of a 21-minute chat with reporters Friday, Shelton said he wants to visit the Clemente Museum as part of his “Pittsburgh Bucket List.”

But Shelton’s most important baseball conversations might have been the ones he has had with pitcher Chris Archer.

The team that hired Shelton to replace Clint Hurdle after a 69-victory season has plenty invested in Archer. That includes two former first-round draft choices (Austin Meadows and Shane Baz) and a standout starting pitcher (Tyler Glasnow). And don’t forget the $9 million salary Archer is due to earn this season as — at least for the moment — the Pirates’ second-highest paid player.

Shelton all but gushed over Archer’s offseason work in his attempt to rally from a subpar 2019 season that included a 5.19 ERA and 3-9 record.

“The one thing about Chris Archer is he’s really good. But when he’s motivated, he’s even better,” Shelton said. “And I think ‘Arch’ thrives on people telling him he can’t do things. He’s going to prove to you that he can.

“I’m excited about Chris Archer this year. I’m excited talking to him, just knowing him as a person, hearing it in his voice, the way he is. I’m excited about where Arch is at.”

New pitching coach Oscar Marin watched Archer throw last week at the MLB Diversity Camp in Phoenix, Ariz.

“He looks great,” Shelton said. “I had a couple buddies that were working the camp that saw it. I was able to see it on video.

“Oscar has seen him throw twice, maybe. I’ve talked to Arch a couple times, saw Arch during the winter meetings, met with him, was able to sit down.”

With spring training set to open Feb. 10, Shelton wasn’t willing to make many roster promises, other than Josh Bell will be at first base.

Archer, Musgrove and Trevor Williams appear to have three spots in the starting rotation, with Brault, Mitch Keller and, possibly, Chad Kuhl among those competing for the other two.

“Other than that, I think it’s unfair for me to comment specifically on guys until we get a handle on them or get a chance to see them,” Shelton said. “I think I have a better idea. But to share those publicly, I think I’ll probably wait.”

The problems the Pirates must fix this season go beyond the pitcher’s mound, however.

While modeling the new uniforms with the script Pittsburgh across the chest, Musgrove admitted “things kind of fell off the tracks” last season.

“We had a lot of internal problems going on. We had some issues getting things together on the field.

“I think we lacked a little bit of leadership in the clubhouse amongst all the players. No one was really ready to step up and take that role. Kind of taking it in the teeth last year gave us some fire for us to step up and fill those roles that need to be filled.”

Musgrove said he plans to be among those stepping forward, and Shelton called him “a guy people look up to on this squad.”

But Musgrove expects leadership will be more of a team effort.

“I don’t think it’s one guy that you’re looking to fix the culture of what’s going on here, fix the momentum and the energy.

“I think it’s going to take a culmination of everybody kind of pulling their own weight and holding each other accountable and speaking when things need to be said.”

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