The Pirates finished dead last in runs, 28th in batting average and 27th in homers. The pitching, wrecked by injuries to both the rotation and the bullpen, needed a late surge to rise to 19th in ERA. Only the New York Yankees committed more errors defensively.

“I know (there is) more we need to do, in regards to who we are next year and how we play,” said first baseman/designated hitter Josh Bell, who hit a career-low .226. “We’ll see what happens next spring and, hopefully, get off to a better start next year.”

It wouldn’t take much. Any talk of the Pirates finding enough magic to contend evaporated when they dropped 13 of their next 16. A 1-12 stretch in early September basically assured Pittsburgh of the top pick in the 2021 draft. Still, they won four of their final six, a blip during a normal 162-game season but an outright hot streak in 2020 and perhaps a little bit of forward momentum.

“When you go out and have good starts or have good (at-bats) it gives you a little bit of confidence,” Shelton said. “As we’ve talked about, it’s not just here, this has been a challenging year for a lot of guys. We’re playing in a division that’s going to have like four teams, possibly, in the playoffs We’re playing the American League Central that maybe has three of the best teams in baseball. Our guys have continued to go out night in and night out in and fight.”