Rotating designated hitter has led to disastrous results for Pirates

From the start, Derek Shelton had no designs on designating a designated hitter. The Pittsburgh Pirates manager preferred a rotation, using that spot to keep players in the lineup but off the field.

The results have been disastrous.

The Pirates have used six players as designated hitters, a position new to the National League in this shortened season, and they have combined for below-the-line production by hitting .184 (34 for 184) with four home runs and 19 RBIs through 52 games.

“Honestly, I think there’s very few teams that have one guy in that role,” Shelton said, “and if you’re in that role, you have to be a guy that performs every single day.”

Shelton spent the previous two seasons as bench coach for the Minnesota Twins, where 40-year-old veteran Nelson Cruz has thrived as the designated hitter, with a higher batting average (.284) than he had as an outfielder (.274). Cruz hit 214 homers and 604 RBIs in 968 games in the outfield, but his 203 homers and 546 RBIs are approaching those totals in 223 fewer games as DH.

Shelton called Cruz “one of the best, probably in the history of it, and continues to get better.”

The Pirates are trending in the opposite direction. The position primarily has become a rotation between Josh Bell and Colin Moran, who have taken turns playing first base and serving as DH.

Bell and Moran are hitting better when playing the field. When playing first base (18 games) and third base (four), Moran is slashing .276/.329/.684 with seven homers and 10 RBIs. In 22 games as DH, the line is much worse: .213/.330/.320 with one homer and seven RBIs. Bell is slashing .282/.341/.500 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs in the 30 games he’s started at first base but only .143/.254/.143 with no homers and five RBIs in 17 games in his 18 games as DH. Only Gregory Polanco is faring better, hitting .240 in eight games as DH and .139 in 31 in right field.

“There’s a lot of logic behind it,” Shelton said. “It’s not easy to do. It’s really not easy to do for a National League player, to transition into being a designated hitter, because you’re trying to find out what your routine is, you’re trying to find out if you should hit or should not hit. You’re used to being on the field. It’s something that becomes a learned trait.

“Guys that you see that are really good at it, it takes them time to do it. Most guys don’t go to it early in their career or at a younger age in their career. They go to it because they’re more of an advanced hitter and know how to do it. I understand it’s challenging. If the DH stays, it’s something we’re really going to have to work for and talk to our guys about their routines.”

Problem is neither is good defensively. Moran’s mobility was a weakness at third base, where he lost his starting job to Erik Gonzalez, who has since switched to shortstop now that rookie Ke’Bryan Hayes is showing Gold Glove potential at the hot corner.

And while Bell’s glove has improved, his revamped throwing motion has gone from sidearm to submarine and is a glaring issue. Even after Bell’s throwing error in the sixth inning of the second game of Friday’s doubleheader, Shelton gave Bell a vote of confidence.

“He still has that ability,” Shelton said. “We have to continue to work just to make him better.”

Bell has made it clear he prefers playing the field but defers to Shelton on where he’s in the lineup. Bell said he’s found DH is “a lot easier” when he gets a hit in his first at-bat, so he doesn’t have to dwell on it in the dugout for the rest of the game.

“It’s definitely skip’s decision,” Bell said. “It’s definitely different. I feel like when you’re DH, you just focus on hitting. When you’re at first base, you’re zoned in to every pitch from different angles. It’s just more in-tune with the game as a whole, but if you’re getting hits, regardless, you’re feeling good out there. So that’s what it boils down to.”

Serving as DH is still an adjustment for NL hitters, and Bell believes the small sample size should be taken into consideration for the Pirates’ paltry statistics at the position.

“I don’t know, I feel like it’s a short case load that we’re working right now,” Bell said. “I feel like if we had 140 games underneath our belt and split, we’d be able to see more of the numbers, but I don’t think that there’s a DH curse, by any means. I think that you have fresher legs, you’re more likely to be able to watch video, dive into guys coming out of the bullpen and stay fresh with the swing. So there’s definitely benefits being able to DH.”

The Pirates still are waiting for them to show up in performance.