Pirates Name New Interim Manager

PITTSBURGH The Pittsburgh Pirates have named a new interim manager that will take over following a organizational change.

The Pirates announced that they relieved Derek Shelton of his managerial duties and named bench manager Don Kelly as their manager.

Kelly was born in nearby Butler on Feb.

15, 1980 and played for Mt.

Lebanon High School, winning the state title as a senior.

He then attended Point Park University and played three seasons, hitting .413 and striking out just 20 times over 500 at-bats.

He would play for the Petersburg Generals in the Coastal Plain League during the summer of 2000 and excelled, leading to the Detroit Tigers taking him in the eighth round of the 2001 MLB Draft.

The Pirates eventually signed Kelly on a minor league contract in 2007 and he played in 25 games that season, slashing .148/.281/.148 for an OPS of .429.

He would end up back in the MLB with the Detroit Tigers and spent six seasons with them from 2009-14, playing in 544 games.

He slashed .234/.297/.340 for an OPS of .637, with 244 hits, 28 doubles, seven triples, 23 home runs, 98 RBIs and 87 walks to 163 strikeouts.

Kelly spent two seasons with the Miami Marlins in 2015 and 2016, but played just 15 games at the MLB level.

He then went into coaching, serving as an assistant on the player development staff for the Tigers, before earning promotion to scout.

He spent a season with the Houston Astros as their first base coach in 2019 before taking over as bench coach for the Pirates on Dec.

7, 2019.

"I believe strongly Donnie is the right person to manager the team right now," Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said in a statement about Kelly taking over as manager.

"He has the skills and experience needed to do this job really well and deeply cares about the Pirates and Pittsburgh.

I look forward to working with him even more closely." "Donnie is as respected as any person in our clubhouse and throughout our organization," Pirates owner Bob Nutting said on Kelly.

"He is a Pirate.

He bleeds black and gold.

No one is more committed, and no one loves this team or city more than Donnie.

He is the right person to manage our team and help get us back on track." Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates Pirates Fire Manager Derek Shelton Pirates Pitching Prospect Heads to Injured List Pirates Top Prospect Launches Wild Home Run Pirates Second Baseman Performing All Baseball Activities Pirates Give Update on Injured Shortstop.

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