Pirates Fire Derek Shelton: Owner Accused of ‘Scapegoat’ Move

The Pittsburgh Pirates have decided to make a change.

After opening up the season with a 12-26 record and sitting in last place in the National League Central division, the team opted to fire manager Derek Shelton.

“Derek is a good man who did a lot for the Pirates and Pittsburgh, but it was time for a change,” team owner Bob Nutting said in a release from the team. “The first quarter of the season has been frustrating and painful for all of us. We have to do better.”

And while there is a clear wins-and-losses reason to move on from Shelton, even at this relatively early point in the season, Nutting has been accused of earning more of the blame than the manager who just lost his job.

Predicting this outcome for Shelton, Major League Baseball insider Robert Murray recently accused Nutting of “setting Derek Shelton up to fail.”

“I’ve been very vocal about my Pittsburgh Pirates disappointment, and how it falls primarily on owner Bob Nutting’s shoulders,” Murray wrote. “With Nutting running the show, the team is bound for continued mediocrity. That mediocrity requires a scapegoat for public relations purposes. … And that’s not fair to Shelton.”

Murray argued that it was virtually impossible for Shelton to win given the Pirates’ relatively miniscule payroll. With a $90.3 million payroll for this year, per Spotrac, the team ranks 23rd in MLB.

Even with that relatively small financial commitment, the Pirates have some intriguing players and there’s a reasonable expectation that they could have performed better up to this point. The starting rotation includes Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones, with Bubba Chandler waiting in the wings. And they hold some exciting young position players, like Oneil Cruz.

But Murray was adamant that no manager could do much better as long as Nutting is at the helm.

“Since being hired in PIttsburgh, Shelton has been set up to fail,” he added. “If this is his final season in Pittsburgh, he’ll surely land on his feet. But don’t go blaming Shelton for Bob Nutting’s mistakes – and unless he decides to sell the team, the Pirates will continue to be what they’ve long been: mediocre.”

Immediately following Shelton’s departure, bench coach Don Kelly was named manager.

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