PITTSBURGH _ Clint Hurdle will return to manage the Pirates in 2018, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
Hurdle has agreed to a four-year contract extension, which replaces the 2018 club option on his current deal and keeps him under contractual control through 2021.
The guaranteed portion of Hurdle's current contract, agreed to in April 2014, expires at the end of this season. The Pirates have not announced the move.
"I'm going to wait on the organization to get everything they need to get in place," Hurdle said after Monday's game, a 12-0 victory against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park, when asked about the extension. "I've made it clear from the beginning that a contract would work out when it was meant to work out."
Hurdle, 60, took over the Pirates in 2011 and has a 574-534 record in seven seasons. The team reached the playoffs for three consecutive years, from 2013-15, but only in '13 did it advance further than the National League wild-card game.
"I love working here," Hurdle said. "I love working in this organization. I'm proud to be a Pirate, have been proud to be a Pirate. I want to do everything I can to get an opportunity to continue to move forward and bring a world championship to this city."
The Pirates have not publicly made a decision on the contract of general manager Neal Huntington. Huntington is in the final guaranteed year of his current contract, which contains a club option for 2018.
Pirates owner Bob Nutting said during spring training that extending Hurdle and Huntington "is not something that's top-of-mind for me. It's not an issue at this point." The Pirates proceeded to have another down year. They are 66-72 after Monday's victory.
Some of what caused the sub.-500 season was out of Hurdle's control. Third baseman Jung Ho Kang has not been able to enter the country because of a DUI sentence in his native South Korea. Starling Marte was suspended 80 games because he tested positive for an anabolic steroid. Jameson Taillon missed five weeks because of treatment to address testicular cancer.
The players Hurdle has had to work with have often been hurt. Gregory Polanco has been on the disabled list three times because of a strained left hamstring. Francisco Cervelli has made four DL trips.
But the offense remains one of the worst in baseball. The Pirates' 4.17 runs per game ranks 27th in MLB, as does their .244 batting average. They hit 132 home runs, more than only the San Francisco Giants, and their .388 slugging percentage ranks 29th out of 30 teams.
The Pirates have also struggled to maintain any traction. They have only one month with a winning record. They surged to within two games of first place on July 21, then went 2-8 in their next 10 games. After winning seven of nine to get within three on Aug. 11, they lost six in a row and 14 of 19 to end their chances of contention.
After the Pirates went 78-83 in 2016, Hurdle overhauled his coaching staff. The Pirates fired third-base/outfield coach Rick Sofield and reassigned first base/infield coach Nick Leyva, replacing them with Joey Cora and Kimera Bartee. They also elevated Tom Prince to bench coach and made Dave Jauss a major league coach.
Before joining the Pirates, Hurdle managed the Colorado Rockies for parts of eight seasons and took them to the World Series in 2007.
