Pittsburgh pirates have fired manager Derek Shelton, the club announced Thursday. The move began with the team’s start to the 12-26 season and a three-game sweep at the hands of division rival St. Louis Cardinals. Bench coach Don Kelly was tentatively appointed Shelton’s replacement.
“Derek worked incredibly hard, and made many sacrifices over the course of over five years. His family became a large part of the Pirates. I’ll miss that.” “He’s an incredibly smart, curious, and driven baseball leader. When he was hired, he was the right person for the job. I think there’s a need for change. I hope Derek and his family are the best in the next chapter.”
The 54-year-old Shelton had a 306-440 (.410) record for parts of six seasons as Pirates manager. Along the way, Shelton endured consecutive 100-loss seasons in 2021 and 2022, with the Pirates achieved in each of the last two seasons not outperforming the 76-86 mark. Under Shelton, the Pirates never finished better than fourth in NL Central, finishing three times in the final spot. This season, the Pirates were cancelled by one of Major League Baseball’s worst offenses. Currently, Pittsburgh ranks 29th in MLB in OPS and 29th in runs. At the same time, the Pirates never surpassed 26th opening day salary during Shelton’s tenure.
“Derek is a good guy who did a lot for the Pirates and Pittsburgh, but that was a time of change,” Pirates owner Bob Nutting said in a statement. “The first quarter of the season was frustrating and painful for all of us. We have to do better. I know that. Ben knows that. Our coaches knows that. Our players know that.
“There’s a lot of baseball left to play. We need to take the necessary steps to fix this now to get back on track as a team and an organization.”
Early Manager Fired, the Last 15 MLB Seasons
Brian Price
red
2018
18
Ron Roenicke
Brewer
2015
twenty five
Freddie Gonzalez
Braves
2016
37
Derek Shelton
Pirates
2025
38
Mike Redmondmarlins201538
As for Kelly, 45, he spent part of nine MLB seasons as a utility player. Although most of that time was with the Detroit Tigers, Kelly spent his first major league season with the Pirates, attending university in Pittsburgh and is from suburban Pittsburgh. After scouting for the Tigers organization, he spent the 2019 season as the first bass coach for the Houston Astros, then served as the Pirates Bench coach. Kelly will become the 48th manager in the history of the Pirates franchise.
“I strongly believe Donnie is the right person to manage his team right now,” Sherlington said in a statement. “He has the skills and experience needed to do this job very well. He cares deeply about Pirates and Pittsburgh. I look forward to working with him even closer.”
“Donnie is as respected as people in our clubhouse and the entire organization,” Nattitting said via the club’s statement. “He’s a pirate. He bleeds black and gold. No one is more committed and no one loves this team or the city more than Donnie. He manages our team and helps us get back on track.”
Kelly inherits the Pirates team, which has struggled ahead of Shelton’s tenure as manager. Pittsburgh has not recorded a winning season since 2018, has not made the playoffs since 2015, and has not won a playoff game since 2013. Three times, Nutting has performed the lowest first day pay on all of MLB.
The current Pirates roster includes Paul Skens, who has been involved in the debate between baseball’s best pitcher and star centre fielder Onircruz in his second major league season. Skenes will be in team control until the 2029 season, but Cruise plans to be a free agency from the 2028 season onwards. In terms of long-term pay commitments, right-handed Mitch Keller is signing until 2028, with third baseman Kebrian Hayes until at least 2029, and outfielder Brian Reynolds until at least 2030.
