On a day that centered around the Pittsburgh Pirates signing No. 1 overall draft pick Paul Skenes, general manager Ben Cherington also addressed the team’s ever-changing roster amid a slide into last place.

The Pirates (41-53) entered Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians having lost four consecutive games and 11 of their past 13 to drop from first place in the NL Central on June 15 to tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for fourth place in the division standings.

The Pirates have promoted seven players from Triple-A Indianapolis over the past five weeks, and they had six rookies in the starting lineup in Monday’s 11-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. That included the starting battery making their major-league debuts together in right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester and catcher Endy Rodriguez.

“The intended message is that we’re trying to get better,” Cherington said Tuesday afternoon at PNC Park. “We believe there are players in Indy that had done enough to earn the call-up and help us be better. That’s all it is. Nothing intended beyond that.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton has acknowledged that some development at the major-league level is necessary for the rookies, as only third baseman Jared Triolo has spent a full season in Triple-A and none are polished products.

Cherington defended the Pirates’ ability to do so, citing right-hander Mitch Keller’s ascension into an All-Star, the progression of right-hander Johan Oviedo — who is coming off a one-hit, 10-strikeout performance — and Jack Suwinski as a power-hitting center fielder.

“I think we’re seeing signals that we’re making gains,” Cherington said. “There are examples of guys getting better in the major leagues. We’re starting to see that and absolutely are not satisfied. We need more of those.

“There’s a lot of young players on this team. I think we have more games played by 24-and-under players of any team in baseball. Not every one of those young players is going to improve and advance in the same way, but we need some of them to. We need a good chunk. We need to give opportunity in order to see if that can happen. I think we’re seeing improvement. I really believe in the staff’s ability to help us do that and we need more.”

With the Aug. 1 trade deadline looming, however, the Pirates are positioning themselves as sellers on the market. The youth movement makes it clear that their playing time could come at the expense of veterans, with some likely to be dealt within the next two weeks.

Last year, the Pirates sent designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach to the New York Mets for right-handed reliever Colin Holderman, then dealt lefty starter Jose Quintana and righty reliever Chris Stratton to the St. Louis Cardinals for Oviedo and first baseman Malcom Nunez.

“We’ve still got some time to go. Unfortunately, it’s been a difficult patch and that’s hard. I believe we can play better than we have,” Cherington said. “I believe that the team is capable of playing better. Talk is cheap; we have to do it. We’ll see where it lands us in a couple weeks. Wherever we are on July 31st, it’s not going to change, bigger picture, our focus. We’re trying to get good as fast as we possibly can and that will guide our decisions.”

The Pirates aren’t ready to make decisions on a pair of injured infielders, third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes (low back) and shortstop Oneil Cruz (fractured left ankle).

The Pirates activated Hayes from the 10-day injured list before the All-Star break, only for him to go back on it a day later. Hayes could require a rehabilitation assignment before returning to the Pirates.

“I think he’s frustrated by the fact that he’s not playing,” Cherington said. “We decided to activate him at a time when we felt and he felt like he was ready. That didn’t go as well as we wanted to. So, we want to be certain that he’s ready, not just to be activated but to play consistently at a level he’s capable of. He’s not quite ready to do that, but he’s making progress.”

Cruz, who had surgery to repair a left ankle fractured while sliding into home plate April 9, is beginning baseball activities. Cruz has gone from long toss throws to fielding grounders on one knee and while standing but could require a ramp-up similar to a spring training before he’s ready to return to playing for the Pirates.

“I don’t know exactly what date we’ll see him,” Cherington said. “This is a significant injury that he’s recovering from, and he is recovering and he’s doing really well. … I believe he’s going to play major-league games for us this year. I can’t tell you right now if that’s in August or September. I don’t know. We’re going to keep taking it a day at a time.”

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