Bob Nutting Explains Frustrating Front Office Decisions to Pirates Fans
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates had a disappointing 2025 campaign, but owner Bob Nutting didn't make any big changes.
Nutting kept general manager Ben Cherington on for his seventh season at the helm and signed manager Don Kelly to a contract extension, after he took the role in early May, following the dismissal of former manager Derek Shelton.
Jason Mackey of MLB.com spoke with Nutting before the Pirates home opener on April 3 and asked him why he didn't move on from his main front office personnel.
Nutting told Mackey that he knows how hard it is to create a winning ball club and how long it takes to do that, but even with that, he sees the improvements across the roster under Cherington.
He also said that it wasn't the right time for a change and that Kelly, more than anyone else, wants to bring winning baseball back to Pittsburgh, his hometown.
"Having been around the game for some time now, I know how long it takes to build a winner," Nutting said. "Unfortunately it does take process, it takes time, it takes perseverance, and it takes some patience.
"Those are all hard things in sports, but as a practical matter, we have been building a stronger team for a long time. If you look at the construction of this team, you'll see it was built over time. I really believe that it was the wrong time to hit a reset, to start a new rebuild, to go in a different direction.
"Staying the course with Ben felt like the right thing. I think it's proving out to be the right thing. Certainly with Donnie Kelly. There was no question in my mind that Donnie is the right person to lead this team. He loves Pittsburgh. He loves the Pirates as much as anyone I've ever been around. Donnie is a rock we're going to build on."
Looking at Ben Cherington/Don Kelly Pirates Tenures
Cherington took over as the Pirates general manager on Nov. 18, 2019, filling a vacant role after Nutting fired previous general manager Neal Huntington.
He didn't have any real success in the first six full seasons of the job from 2020-25, where the Pirates amassed a record of 365-505 record, a .420 winning percentage.
Only two MLB teams had worse records than that during that time in the Washington Nationals, 354-416 (.407) and the Colorado Rockies, 331-538 (.381)
The Pirates entered 2026 with seven consecutive seasons below .500 and 10 seasons outside of the playoffs, the second-longest streaks of any team.
Pittsburgh does have a great pitching staff, with 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes leading a strong rotation and a bullpen with solid arms.
Cherington did make some moves this offseason, adding power hitters in second baseman Brandon Lowe in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, plus signing both Ryan O'Hearn and Marcell Ozuna to bolster a lineup that was the worst in baseball in 2025.
Kelly went 59-65 in his first season on the job, with the Pirates finishing 71-91 overall, the fifth worst record in baseball and last in the NL Central.
He previously worked as a bench coach under Shelton and now has the Pirates for his first full campaign, where he hopes to guide them back to the postseason.
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.