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Paul Skenes makes his thoughts on Derek Shelton firing very clear

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated May 10, 2025 10:58 PM ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been bad this season, so Paul Skenes is not surprised that the team’s poor play ultimately resulted in manager Derek Shelton being fired.

The Pirates on Thursday fired Shelton following a 12-26 start to the season. They have gone 1-1 since then under interim manager Don Kelly.

Skenes is the most notable player on the Pirates, and he was asked about the team’s decision to fire their manager. The Pirates ace said he wasn’t surprised that the bad start had cost Shelton his job.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t shocked,” Skenes said. “At the end of the day, we’re 12-27, 26, whatever it is. Someone’s gotta be held accountable. Right now, it’s him. That’s just kind of how it goes. I don’t know if it fixes the root of the issue, which is that we need to play better.”

THIS
reaction from #Pirates Paul Skenes on managerial change pic.twitter.com/7b1e90zSYo
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) May 9, 2025

Skenes is not messing around. He knows it’s a performance business, and if you don’t perform, you’re gone. That goes for players to an extent, and certainly it applies to managers too. And when the players aren’t performing, it’s a lot easier to fire the manager than the entire roster of players. That’s what happened with Shelton.

Shelton was in his sixth season as Pirates manager and had put together a career record of 306-440. He had never posted a winning season, and the closest he came was with consecutive 76-86 seasons in 2023 and 2024.

As for Skenes, he has begun the season 3-4 with a 2.77 ERA.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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