Paul Skenes makes feelings known on former manager Derek Shelton firing

Paul Skenes' Pittsburgh Pirates didn't have the best start to the 2025 MLB season. The NL Central team fired manager Derek Shelton on Thursday after their prolonged struggles. Their 12-26 record before Shelton's firing was the third worst in the MLB behind the Chicago White Sox and the Colorado Rockies.

Reigning NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes weighed in on the firing. Skenes said it was unfortunate, but he wasn't shocked by the decision after the team's dismal start.

"Unfortunately, I wasn’t shocked. At the end of the day, we’re 12-26,” Skenes said on Friday. “Someone’s got to be held accountable, and unfortunately right now, it’s him. That’s just kind of how it goes, but I don’t know that it fixes the root of the issue, which is we need to play better. That’s been the messaging today, that’s been the messaging for a little bit now and we’ve still got to do that.”

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Skenes' message for the team to play better was seemingly heard as the Pirates defeated the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in the series opener on Friday to end a seven-game losing streak.

Pirates starter Bailey Falter pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks with three strikeouts as Pittsburgh stifled a late comeback from the Braves in the ninth inning.

Paul Skenes urges collective growth after Pirates fire Derek Shelton

The Pirates promoted bench coach Don Kelly as the new manager, hoping to change the team's fortunes. Skenes urged his teammates to grow to salvage the season.

“If nothing else, we better grow, because if we don’t grow then it’s a completely lost season,” Skenes said. “Just got to keep going and understand the urgency of where we’re at right now.”

While Skenes, one of the youngest players in the lineup, urged for collective growth, veteran slugger Andrew McCutchen asked players to take responsibility.

“The only thing I can focus on is myself, doing my job and whatever I can so something like that doesn't ever happen again,” McCutchen said.

With the team securing a win on Kelly's managerial debut, fans will hope for a revival of the Pirates' season in the coming weeks.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash