Pirates to keep Don Kelly as manager after improvements in second half
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are keeping Don Kelly as manager.
The club announced Monday it had extended Kelly's contract after the team recovered from a miserable opening six weeks of the season thanks in part to Kelly’s guidance. The length of the deal was not announced.
Pittsburgh was 12-26 when it fired Derek Shelton on May 8 and promoted Kelly, who had served as the bench coach for five-plus seasons. While the Pirates never escaped last place in the National League Central following that nightmarish start, Pittsburgh did go 59-65 under Kelly, including a 32-33 mark after the All-Star break.
The 45-year-old Kelly — who was born in Butler Memorial Hospital, has family ties to Butler County and played some games at Pullman Park while at Point Park University — and played one of his nine big league seasons with the Pirates.
“Donnie is an elite communicator. He is deeply trusted by our players because he’s credible, consistent, and unafraid of tough conversations,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said in a statement. “His background as both a scout and a coach gives him a rare perspective: patience when it’s needed, and an unwavering belief in players’ ability to improve. Above all, he values people and winning. His ability to adjust, lead, and do the hard work makes him the right leader.”
Kelly said late in the season he hoped he'd be retained and believed Pittsburgh is “not as far off as some might think” from contending. The Pirates do have a promising young group of pitchers, led by reigning NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young favorite Paul Skenes, fellow 23-year-old Bubba Chandler, as well as Braxton Ashcraft (25), Mike Burrows (25) and Jared Jones (25), who missed the entire season after having Tommy John surgery.
The Pirates head into the offseason in need of a serious upgrade to a lineup that was easily the worst in baseball. Pittsburgh ranked last in the majors in runs, home runs and OPS and 28th out of 30 teams in batting average.
The club found itself in a similar position a year ago and opted to focus on overhauling some of the coaching staff rather than investing in proven major league talent. While Spencer Horwitz was solid after being acquired in a winter trade with Cleveland and Tommy Pham recovered from a miserable start, the Pirates were never in a position to threaten to contend during a season that began with everyone from owner Bob Nutting to Cherington to Shelton saying it was time to win.
Kelly can at least exhale knowing he has the job for the long term, and it appears Cherington will be back for a seventh season. The general manager has come under heavy criticism for the inability to find productive major league hitters, though during his tenure Pittsburgh has put together one of the deepest pools of pitching prospects in the majors.
