Pirates Rumors

2:30pm: MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch passes on a statement from Coonelly which confirms the extensions and says dismissing Russell "is not the appropriate response" to the team's struggles. Coonelly sounds confident in the team's progress, but says "a contract will not prevent us from making a change if one is appropriate and thus contract status truly is irrelevant."

2:22pm: The Pirates extended Russell and Huntington last offseason, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter).

10:53am: The Pirates have extended GM Neal Huntington’s contract through 2011 and may have picked up manager John Russell's option for next season, according to a major league source who spoke to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Pirates president Frank Coonelly chose not to comment on the contracts of Russell and Huntington.

The timing of the extensions would be odd, but not unprecedented. The 23-42 Pirates appear headed for an 18th consecutive losing season and Russell’s job security appears anything but certain. Rosenthal reports that Huntington, whose contract was set to expire after the season, believes in Russell and shoulders much of the blame for the team’s disappointing play.

Huntington has drafted aggressively (Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie, Pedro Alvarez) and pursued international free agents with gusto since taking over. He has acquired some promising youngsters (Jose Tabata, Tim Alderson, Bryan Morris) in deals for proven players, though he has given up many valuable players along the way (Jason Bay, Tom Gorzelanny). Like any GM who has been around for a few years, there are commendable moves and regrettable ones in Huntington's history.

The Royals, who might be the American League’s answer to the Pirates, made a similar move last summer. They extended GM Dayton Moore in the midst of a largely disappointing 2009 season.

WEDNESDAY, 12:52pm: Rosenthal and Morosi report that there is some sentiment among those above and below Coonelly and Huntington that Russell should be dismissed. That could mean that ownership is unhappy with Russell, though the FOX Sports duo reports that majority owner Bob Nutting has not discussed firing Russell with the team's president and GM.

TUESDAY, 9:31pm: ESPN's Buster Olney hears from sources that "there is absolutely nothing to the speculation" about Russell being fired (via Twitter).  Rosenthal also tweets that Pirates president Frank Coonelly has denied that discussions about Russell's future have taken place.

8:58pm: With Pedro Alvarez on the verge of making his debut in the black-and-gold, the young prospect might never get to play for current Pirates manager John Russell.  Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com report that the team is "holding internal discussions" about Russell's fate, though it isn't apparent if the manager might be fired soon or possibly until after the season.

Russell "has drawn criticism within the industry for his stiff, impassive demeanor," according to Rosenthal/Morosi.  With the likes of Alvarez, Brad Lincoln and Jose Tabata either on the major league roster or nearing it, Pittsburgh management might want a new face in the dugout to signify this fresh start for the organization. 

Russell has a 152-234 record since being hired as the Pirates' manager before the 2008 season, though given Pittsburgh's roster, it's hard to attribute their lack of success to Russell's managerial skills.  Rosenthal/Morosi say that the Bucs will look inside the organization for an interim manager to finish out the season, and note that former Indians manager Eric Wedge and Cardinals bench coach Jose Oquendo are long-term candidates to take over the job.