Pittsburgh Pirates superstar pitcher Paul Skenes is known to be a man of few words. While he stuck to that mantra on Friday discussing the firing of his former manager, Derek Shelton, he didn’t exactly mince them, either.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t shocked,” Skenes said when asked about Shelton’s firing, which occurred Thursday during the team’s day off. “At the end of the day, I mean, we’re 12-26. Someone’s gotta be hold accountable.”
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“Unfortunately, right now, it’s him,” Skenes added. “That’s just kind of how it goes.”
The Pirates entered Friday with a record of 12-26, only better than the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies.
Since Shelton took over in 2020, the Pirates have endured five straight losing seasons, having gone just 306-440. They finished the 2023 and 2024 seasons with identical 76-86 records.
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It was clear something needed to change, and Shelton was the man to fall on the sword. Whether that fixes the team’s issues amid their brutal first month-plus of the season remains to be seen. Skenes isn’t exactly convinced.
“I don’t know that it fixes the root of the issue which is that we need to play better,” Skenes said. “That’s been the messaging today, that’s been the messaging for a little bit now. And we still gotta do that.”
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Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, is one of the few bright spots in the Pirates organization. He was called up to make his debut last May, and hasn’t gone down since, instantly becoming one of the best pitchers in the league.
Across 23 starts last season, Skenes went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA over 133 innings pitched. He added 170 strikeouts to just 32 walks en route to a Rookie of the Year award and a top-three Cy Young award finish. He was named an All-Star and even earned down ballot MVP votes, an especially impressive feat on a team that finished 10 games under .500.
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This year, it’s been more of the same dominance for Skenes, as he’s made eight starts, sporting a 2.77 ERA with 47 strikeouts across 48.2 innings pitched.
While Skenes has put together another All-Star-caliber season, the team around him hasn’t exactly matched his level of play.
Pirates hitters entered Friday with a combined wRC+ of 76, which was tied with the White Sox for the second-worst in MLB. Their team ERA of 4.31 ranks tied-for-21st in the league, and that includes Skenes’ impressive numbers.
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