Pirates Manager Missing Series Finale vs. Cubs
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates won't have their manager for their upcoming game.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton will miss the series finale vs. the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on May 1. He will attend his son, Jackson Shelton's, graduation at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla., according to Justin Guerriero of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Don Kelly, the Pirates bench coach, will take Shelton's place as manager.
Per the Pirates, manager Derek Shelton will be absent from tomorrow afternoon's series finale vs. Chicago to attend his son's graduation from Florida Atlantic.
— Justin Guerriero (@GuerrieroTrib) April 30, 2025
Don Kelly will manage the Pirates Thursday.
The Pirates have struggled under Shelton during his tenure, going 294-414 (.415) through his first five seasons, as the team has never finished higher than fourth in the National League Central Division.
Pittsburgh finished with the worst record during the 2020 season, 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.
Shelton received boos from Pirates fans before the home opener vs. the New York Yankees on April 4, an eventual 9-4 loss for the home team.
The Pirates are currently 12-19 overall, with their .387 winning percentage the third worst in baseball, just ahead of the Chicago White Sox, who are 7-23 overall and have a winning percentage of.233, and the Colorado rockies, who are 5-25 overall and have an MLB-worst winning percentage of .167.
Pittsburgh, despite firing hitting coach Andy Haines after last season, is still one of the worst hitting teams in baseball.
They rank fifth worst in batting average, 226, eighth worst with an on-base percentage of .305, third worst slugging percentage at .340 and the fourth worst OPS at .645.
Pittsburgh will host the San Diego Padres this weekend, with Shelton returning for that series.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.