Pirates Fire Manager Derek Shelton
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they fired manager Derek Shelton after a poor start to the 2025 season.
The Pirates will have bench coach Don Kelly as their interim manager for the time being, as they have a 12-26 overall record and sit 10 games back from the Chicago Cubs in first place and the third worst record in the MLB.
"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," Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington wrote in a statement.
"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. "
"Derek is a good man who did a lot for the Pirates and Pittsburgh, but it was time for a change," Pirates owner Bob Nutting said in the statement. "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. 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 took over as the Pirates manager on Nov. 27, 2019, after Clint Hurdle served as manager for nine seasons.
Pittsburgh finished with the worst record during the 2020 season, the first under Shelton, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, at 19-41 overall. They also finished with back-to-back 100-loss seasons afterwards, 61-101 in 2021 and 62-100 in 2022.
The Pirates had better starts the following two seasons, which gave the fanbase some interest early on.
They started 20-8 overall in 2023, before losing 11 of the next 12 games and eventually falling below .500 for a 76-86 record.
Pittsburgh had a record of 9-2 and 11-5 in April 2024, before falling below .500. They would get themselves back slightly above .500, 55-52 by July 30 and put themselves in contention for a Wild Card spot, but went 8-19 in August, with a 10-game losing streak, ending those chances.
The Pirates finished with a 306-440 record under Derek Shelton, a .410 winning percentage. They haven't made the playoffs since 2015 and had a winning season since 2018.
