The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Thursday that manager Derek Shelton has been relieved of his duties. In place of Shelton, bench coach Don Kelly has been named as manager. “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.”
The dismissal comes after a seven-game losing streak dropped the Pirates’ record to 12-26 to start the season. In November 2019, the Pirates tabbed Shelton as the 41st manager in franchise history. Shelton was the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins and manager Rocco Baldelli from 2018-19. Prior to his time with the Twins, Shelton had served as a big-league coach for the Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays.
“Derek is a good man who did a lot for the Pirates and Pittsburgh, but it was time for a change,” said Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting. “The first quarter of the season has been frustrating and painful for all of us. We have to do better. I know that. Ben knows that. Our coaches know that. Our players know that.”
“There is a lot of baseball left to be played,” added Nutting. “We need to act with a sense of urgency and take the steps necessary to fix this now to get back on track as a team and organization.”
Shelton’s first year as Pirates’ manager was the pandemic-shortened 2020 season in which the Pirates finished 19-41. After a major rebuilding effort saw trades of several cornerstone players including Joe Musgrove, Jameson Taillon and Josh Bell, the Pirates lost 100 games in back-to-back seasons in both 2021 (61-101) and 2022 (62-100). The Pirates started to finally show promise under Shelton during the 2023 season with a 20-8 start through late April. On April 22 of that year, the Pirates rewarded Shelton with a contract extension.
Despite the early-season promise that year, the Pirates finished 10 games under .500 with a 76-86 record, but a 14-win improvement from the previous season. The Pirates decided to bring Shelton back for 2025 after finishing the 2024 season with an identical 76-86 record as the year prior, but their poor start to the season prompted a change.
In Shelton’s five-plus seasons as manager, the Pirates had a 306-440 (.410) record and finished in last place in four out of five years. Through 38 games this season, the Pirates are again in the cellar of the National League Central and 10 games out of first place. Shelton is one of 12 managers in franchise history to amass 300 wins, but only eight managers lost more games than he did.
Kelly was in his sixth season as Pirates’ bench coach before his promotion to manager. Prior to joining Shelton’s staff in Pittsburgh, Kelly was first base coach of the Houston Astros in 2019. “I believe strongly Donnie is the right person to manage the team right now,” said Cherington. “He has the skills and experience needed to do this job really well and deeply cares about the Pirates and Pittsburgh. I look forward to working with him even more closely.”
A native of Pittsburgh, Kelly played parts of nine seasons in the Major Leagues from 2007-16 with the Pirates, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. As he steps into this new role, expectations will certainly be high, especially as the team looks to turn its fortunes around in the coming months.
