‘It Just Became Clear,’ Ben Cherington Explains Decision to Fire Derek Shelton

PITTSBURGH — In early December of 2019, Ben Cherington was at the podium at the press conference room at PNC Park to introduce Derek Shelton as the team’s 41st manager in club history.

Five and a half years later, Cherington returned to the same podium after firing Shelton amidst a slide to start the 2025 season.

The Pirates announced on Thursday that Shelton had been relieved of his duties as the team finds itself with a 12-26 record and losers of seven-straight games.

“We aren’t performing the way we need to,” Cherington said on his decision. “We’re not performing in a way that our fans deserve. We know we need to be better. I guess I looked at the end of last year, August and September, and how April and the first few days of May played out. It just became clear that a change was necessary and that we were not in a position to wait any longer.”

During Shelton’s tenure, the Pirates went 306-440 (.410) and finished in last place in four of five seasons he was at the helm. The Pirates again are in the bottom of the National League Central in 2025.

Cherington and Shelton were hired during the same offseason, replacing former general manager Neal Huntington and former manager Clint Hurdle. It was the same offseason the Pirates hired Travis Williams is team president in place of Frank Coonelly.

Although Shelton is the only one of the three to get dismissed, Cherington says the ousted manager isn’t the sole reason for the Pirates’ struggles.

“This certainly isn’t all on (Shelton), he explained. “We’re all responsible. It certainly starts with me. I’m more responsible than anyone. We need to perform better. That’s the bottom line. This wasn’t about any single player, any single event, any single day. An accumulation over the last part of last year and early part of this year. It just became clear to me that in order to move forward and get the Pirates back moving in the direction we need to move that a change was necessary to give ourselves a chance to do that.”

Shelton’s stint as Pirates’ manager ends as the 12th-winningest manager in franchise history, but his .410 winning percentage is worst third-worst among any manager who managed at least 400 games.

In place of Shelton, the Pirates named Don Kelly has the team’s new manager. Kelly, who had been Shelton’s bench coach since he was hired, will manage the team for the rest of the season.

“This is someone who cares way more about the Pirates, the city, cares way more about the people in that clubhouse than he does himself,” Cherington said on promoting Kelly. “He’s just an elite human being and teammate. He comes to the ballpark everyday focused on only one thing  — how to help this team get better.”

Cherington is hoping that a new voice in Kelly will help turn around the Pirates’ season, but it’s going to take much more than just him alone.

“It’s on every person in the organization but certainly from a baseball perspective, it starts with me,” he said. “Everybody in our clubhouse is responsible. I believe we all need to do our jobs better, can do our jobs better. I believe we will. I don’t think you have to squint too hard to see a stronger team on the field in 2025. I believe we have the players in the organization that will help us do that.”

Kelly first game since his promotion to manager will come at PNC Park on Friday night. The Pirates will host the Atlanta Braves for a weekend series in Pittsburgh.