When the Pittsburgh Pirates fired former manager Derek Shelton and installed bench coach Don Kelly as the team’s interim manager on May 8, the Pirates were 12-26 and failing to live up to the elevated expectations that followed after Paul Skenes’ astonishing rookie season in 2024.
The Pirates improved to 26-24 under Kelly after a victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. While being two games over .500 may not look like progress, MLB insiders continue to heap praise upon the Western Pennsylvania native’s decision-making in the clubhouse.
During a recent segment of MLB Tonight that aired on MLB Network, hosts Brian Kenney, Yonder Alonso and Tom Verducci explained why they feel the time is right for the Pirates to remove the interim tag from Kelly and name him the team’s manager.
“They just swept the New York Mets over the weekend,” said Kenney. “They are 23-24 with him as manager. Can we get rid of the interim tag? Hasn’t this guy proven enough? Not only that, but he’s been there for a long time. He’s from there.”
“I’ve been impressed with Don Kelly,” responded Verducci. “He’s a local guy. I’ve always thought he’s been the manager-in-waiting there in Pittsburgh, for multiple years anyway. He interviewed a few years ago with the Mets and took himself out of that. I think he knew this was the one job he wanted. And I think they knew this was the best guy for the job. Now’s his time. I think that interim tag is definitely going away, whether it’s now or after tomorrow.”
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The Pirates defeated the Cardinals, 5-0, in afternoon baseball on Wednesday. The team will begin a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners on Friday.
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