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Major League Baseball saw its first manager shooting the season this week when Pittsburgh Pirates have ax Derek Shelton after a 12-26 start.
It was a rough blow for the pirates since their brief after-season section a decade ago. But with young talents to Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, Ke’bryan Hayes and others, they failed to meet expectations.
Skenes admitted that he “was not shocked” by the move.
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The launcher starting from Pittsburgh Pirates, Paul Skenes (30), returns the ball to the manager Derek Shelton (right) when he was removed from a match against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth round at PNC Park. (Charles Leclaire / USA TODAY SPORTS)
“We are 12-26. Someone must be held responsible,” he told journalists on Friday. “Unfortunately, right now, it’s him.”
But Skenes said that a managerial change will not do much because it depends in the end of the players.
“Just how it goes. I don’t know if it solves the root of the problem. We just need to play better,” he added.
“Derek has worked incredibly hard and has sacrificed more than five years. His family has become a large part of the Pirate family, and that will be missing,” said Pirate Director, Ben Cherington, in a statement. “He is an incredibly intelligent, curious and motivated baseball chief. I think he was the right person for work when he was hired. I also believe that a change is now necessary. I want Derek and his family to be the best in their next chapter.”
Pirate coach Don Kelly has been appointed replacement of Shelton.
Pittsburgh’s Pirates Director Derek Shelton, on the left, speaks with referee Mike Estabrook between the sleeves of a match against the Padres de San Diego in Pittsburgh on May 3, 2025. (AP photo / Gene J. Puskar)
“Derek is a good man who did a lot for pirates and pittsburgh, but it was time to change,” said Pirate President Bob Nutting. “The first quarter of the season was frustrating and painful for all of us. We have to do better. I know it. Well know it. Our coaches know it. Our players know it.
“There is still a lot of baseball to play. We have to act with a feeling of emergency and take the necessary steps to solve this problem now to get back on the right team and organization.”
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton is held in the canoe in a match against the Padres de San Diego in Pittsburgh on May 2, 2025. (AP photo / Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh was in the running last summer before finishing 76-86.
