Pirates manager Derek Shelton 'fired up' to see baseball activity at PNC Park as players report

It’s not quite baseball in a bubble, but Derek Shelton on Wednesday got his first chance to watch players work out at PNC Park as Pittsburgh Pirates manager.

As Pirates players are in the process of reporting for summer camp, the three-week preparation period for the 60-game regular season, Shelton reiterated he expects everyone to be ready to play.

“It was nice to see people back on the field,” Shelton said on a Zoom conference call. “It was nice to see guys back together, although it was in much smaller groups and away from each other. But there was baseball activity on PNC. That was something that fired me up.”

Report Day 2.0 pic.twitter.com/m8wwhHwQHX

— Pirates (@Pirates) July 1, 2020

That the Pirates returned amid the covid-19 pandemic was viewed as a positive sign for the sports world, even as state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine issued an order making it mandatory for masks to be worn whenever anyone leaves their home.

With the Pirates just getting started, Shelton isn’t worrying about whether Western Pennsylvania will go back to the yellow phase. The sport was shut down since March 12, when MLB closed spring training.

“We’re abiding by Major League Baseball’s protocols, and really, that would probably be the only answer I have,” Shelton said. “Whatever Major League Baseball says we have to do, we’re going to do.”

For now, Shelton is concentrating on the Pirates starting their training camp with a 40-man roster that must be whittled to 30 by the start of the season. Those who arrived early took the field in small groups, with pitchers throwing bullpen sessions and position players taking live batting practice and fielding grounders and fly balls.

The Pirates got good news when pitchers Steven Brault (shoulder) and Clay Holmes (foot) reported healthy, and Shelton said the expectation is infielder Erik Gonzalez also has recovered from a fractured foot that slowed his progress in spring training.

Gonzalez was expected to be on a charter flight from the Dominican Republic provided by MLB that included a contingent of players from Latin America, so the Pirates will have to put those players through health and safety testing protocols when they report.

That’s where Shelton stressed the importance of players being honest about assessing their bodies, whether they are prepared to play or dealing with a nagging injury that could have long-term ramifications.

“We talked about that at the beginning of spring training, too,” Shelton said. “With a soft-tissue injury, we can lose you for four weeks, which is half the season now. So, if you’re feeling something or you think you’ve got something going on, you’ve got to be honest with us so we can make sure we work from there.”