What happens when your team is last in their division and has a bottom-three record in Major League Baseball (MLB)? I will take “Your Job is in Jeopardy” for 1000 Alex. The Pittsburgh Pirates decided to part ways with Manager Derek Shelton after a 12-26 start to the 2025 season. Shelton took over the team midway through the 2020 season. Since then, the team has gone 306-440 under his leadership, failing to have a winning season. What’s next for the young Pirates? Who will fill the role as Manager moving forward? What can fans expect out of the team this season and beyond?
Pirates Moving Forward
The Major League Baseball season is a grind and a 162-game marathon. There is an old saying that you can’t win the World Series in April, but you can definitely lose it! Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Pirates, they find themselves in quite a hole of 14 games under .500 through their first 38 games. Pittsburgh currently sits 10 games behind the division leading Chicago Cubs. The organization has decided that enough is enough, and it’s time for a change. Derek Shelton was relieved of his duties in the season’s first quarter.
Moving forward, bench coach Don Kelly has been named the team’s manager. Kelly spent most of his playing career with the Detroit Tigers, serving as the ultimate utility player. After nine years in the big leagues, Kelly finds himself managing the team he started with back in 2007. He has been the bench coach with the Pirates since 2019, and many people around the league believed that his time was coming to be MLB manager. The Pirates have a young core of talent with phenom Paul Skenes, Oniel Cruz, Ke’Bryan Hayes, and Bryan Reynolds looking to take the next step.
Final Thoughts
As much as I can picture Don Kelly channeling his inner, younger John Cena and telling Derek Shelton, “His time is up, my time is now,” this is a great move. As a Detroit Tigers fan, Donwiss Kelly was the Swiss Army knife of baseball players. The guy is one of the few players in Major League Baseball history to play all nine positions in a single game. A versatile and knowledgeable guy about the game sets the Pittsburgh Pirates in good hands for the future. Just like Lil Wayne likes to be referred to as Weezy F. Baby, don’t forget the Baby, Tigers fans will always refer to Don Kelly as DKB, Don Kelly Baby!
