The Pittsburgh Pirates are moving on from manager Derek Shelton after six seasons. The team fired Shelton on Thursday after the Pirates started the season 12-26.
The team announced Shelton’s firing in a statement. General manager Ben Cherington thanked Shelton for his time in the organization, calling him a “smart, curious and driven baseball leader.”
“Derek worked incredibly hard and sacrificed a lot over five-plus years. His family became a big part of the Pirates family, and we will miss that,” said Pirates general manager Ben Cherington. “He’s an incredibly smart, curious and driven baseball leader. I believe he was the right person for the job when he was hired. I also believe that a change is now necessary. I wish Derek and his family all the best in their next chapter.”
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Team owner Bob Nutting echoed that sentiment but added that the team “has to do better.”
Pirates bench coach Don Kelly will take over as the team’s manager following Shelton’s firing.
Shelton was hired by the team ahead of the 2020 season. Prior to his hiring, the Pirates were scuffling. After making three straight playoff appearances in 2013-15, Pittsburgh put up a .471 winning percentage between 2016 and ’19. The team finished no higher than third in the NL Central in that period. After finishing last in the division in 2019, the Pirates fired Clint Hurdle and hired Shelton.
The Pirates finished with an MLB-worst 19 wins during the shortened season in 2020, Shelton’s first at the helm. Then the team failed to progress under Shelton, finishing no higher than fourth in the division in his first five seasons. The team is last in the NL Central as of Thursday. Shelton complied a 306-440 record with the Pirates, good for a .410 winning percentage.
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The arrival of Paul Skenes in 2024 brought excitement to a Pirates team desperately in need of young stars. And despite the team’s continued struggles, it’s possible that more help is on the way soon. Pitcher Bubba Chandler, one of the consensus top prospects in the game, is expected to join the Pirates in the near future. With Skenes excelling and Chandler on his way, the Pirates will turn to Kelly with hope that he can get the team on the right path.
However, that might prove difficult without help from the front office. Cherington followed Skenes’ arrival in 2024 with a quiet offseason in which the Pirates brought in barely any notable players. That was the case throughout most of Shelton’s tenure. The team struggled, but he didn’t exactly have star players at his disposal.
Getting the Pirates back to contention is going to require a full organizational shift. Maybe Kelly is the right person to lead that charge, but he’ll need support from the front office and Nutting to make it happen.