Pirates' Don Kelly Experiment Has Failed

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates' season has reached a miserable place. Once again, the hope has faded, and the team is starting to retreat back into the basement of the National League.

With the Pirates now 6.0 games back of the final Wild Card spot in the NL, the season is likely done. Barring a momentous run over the final six weeks of the season, the Battlin' Buccos will continue their postseason drought.

It's obvious that this organization is still not on the right track, but who is to blame? From top to bottom, the Pirates must take accountability, and that includes manager Don Kelly. Despite his best efforts, he's proved that he is not the right manager to take this team to the next level.

Where Kelly Fails the Pirates

The most glaring problem has haunted Kelly since taking over as manager for Derek Shelton in 2025. The Butler, Pennsylvania, native has brought tons of positives to the Pirates. He's an energetic leader, and he's unafraid to stick up for his team, regardless of the consequences. He's been ejected a shocking 10 times over the 245 games he's managed. For reference, previous manager Derek Shelton was ejected 16 times over six seasons, and Lloyd McClendon was ejected 18 times over five seasons at the helm.

He brought that fiery mentality from the moment he was promoted, and for the first half of the 2026 season, it was working. Unfortunately, that's where the compliments run dry for Kelly.

And that's also where his biggest failure emerges. His management of the pitching staff has been, quite frankly, miserable. His situational awareness has been in the toilet, pulling starters too early or leaving them in too long.

Meanwhile, his bullpen choices haven't been any better. He gave former closer Dennis Santana way more rope than he deserved, trotting him out there 44 times over 41.2 innings before making the glaringly obvious choice to not have him in the bullpen anymore.