Pirates Make Bold Move Extending Don Kelly Amid Playoff Drought, Betting on Leadership to Unlock Skenes’ Full Potential

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that the contract of manager Don Kelly has been extended. Kelly has been with the team since 2020 as their bench coach and was promoted to manager on May 8. Even with a poor record, the Pirates have been relevant over the last two years due to their phenom pitcher, Paul Skenes. 

As any baseball fan knows, social media blows up with online jokes and memes when their phenom pitcher, Paul Skenes pitches. The common storyline is that his talent is being wasted at PNC Park. After all, Kelly and the club just finished their tenth season without a playoff berth. They did not even come close to sniffing the playoffs. The Pirates are apparently betting on Kelly as the person to mold Pittsburgh into a team around the legendary arm of Skenes. 

Is Kelly the Right Manager to Lead the Pirates to the Playoffs?  

While the San Francisco Giants were quick to fire their manager, Bob Melvin, the Pirates were equally quick to provide a new contract to Kelly. That leads to a fair question: Is it warranted? 

The recap: 

• Many suggest that Skenes is being wasted as a generational talent, as he finished the year 10-10 with an ERA of 1.97
• His record was a significant fall off from his 11-3 rookie year, but he can’t be faulted, as his ERA was 1.96 last year. (Cue the online jokes) 
• The Pirates finished the year 71-91
• As an interim coach, Kelly guided the team to a 59-65 record

In their release, the Pirates pointed out reasons to keep Kelly around. When he was the interim manager:

• The Pirates’ staff ERA ranked fourth in MLB  
• They ranked sixth best in fielding percentage
• They finished with a 37-25 record at home at PNC Park
• The team finished 32-33 after the All-Star Break 

Apparently these numbers were enough to convince the Pirates front office Kelly is the person to bring together a team to showcase the talents of  Skenes.