The Pittsburgh Pirates have extended the contract of their manager Derek Shelton after they began the 2023 Major League Baseball regular season with a 14-7 record, the team's best since 1992, general manager Ben Cherington announced on Saturday.

"I really believe he's the right person for the job," Cherington said. "All of the work that goes into building our culture – the way we prepare for games, the way we treat each other, the relationships that are built – I think we're starting to see the fruits of that labor."

Having defeated the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, the Pirates added the 15th win to their record and continued to rank second in the National League (NL) Central Division behind the Milwaukee Brewers (15-6).

Shelton had worked as an assistant coach in the Cleveland Guardians, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins before becoming the manager of the Pirates in 2020. So far, his managing record is 156-249, including losing 101 and 100 games during the 2020 and 2021 campaigns respectively.

Shelton's current contract would come due after the 2023 season. The Pirates' front office obviously still has faith in him and began to negotiate an extension during the spring training. "We probably had (the deal) done six or seven days ago," Cherington said.

"I think the positivity that we've tried to portray as a staff and the consistency that we've tried to portray as a staff has been really important," Shelton said. "There's light at the end of the tunnel and we're moving in the right direction, and that's really important to me."

The Pirates have been absent from the playoffs since 2016. Having spent years rebuilding, the team have generated a six-game winning streak, their first since July 2018.