Ben Cherington has delivered his share of double talk as general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and his explanation for firing manager Derek Shelton on Thursday was no exception.
While severing ties with Shelton, Cherington accepted accountability and responsibility for a 12-26 start and seven-game losing streak that has the Pirates mired in last place in the NL Central.
“This certainly isn’t all on Shelty. We’re all responsible,” Cherington said Thursday afternoon during a news conference at PNC Park. “It certainly starts with me. I’m more responsible than anyone. We need to perform better. That’s the bottom line. This wasn’t about any single player, even any single day. An accumulation over the last part of last year and early part of this year. It just became clear to me that in order to move forward and get the Pirates back moving in the direction we need to move that a change was necessary to give ourselves a chance to do that.”
Pirates GM Ben Cherington: “This certainly isn’t all on Shelty. We’re all responsible.” pic.twitter.com/sVQcN189rK
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) May 8, 2025
It was Cherington who hired Shelton as the Pirates’ 46th manager in November 2019 and supported him through back-to-back 100-loss seasons in 2021-22 followed by 76-win seasons in 2023-24. It was Cherington who gave Shelton a public vote of confidence last September after a 10-game losing streak in August dropped them out of wild-card contention and assured a sixth consecutive losing season.
Still, it was Shelton who served as the scapegoat for the shortcomings while Cherington remains in charge of the club’s baseball operations, despite Pirates fans fuming as much at the man who constructed the team as the one who coached it. Cherington acknowledged he will be judged on whether the team wins.
“We’re both accountable. I am still accountable right now. We were in this together every minute up until this morning,” Cherington said. “It makes it a very difficult conversation. It makes it a very difficult choice. Certainly not lost on me that my part of that accountability, if I had done my job perfectly for five years, might not be meeting with you today. That’s certainly possible. I own that completely. This is not all on Shelty. And I believe that it became clear to me that this was a choice, however difficult, that we needed to make. I certainly feel accountable going forward.”
Pirates GM Ben Cherington on taking accountability for the team’s performance. pic.twitter.com/DXn1MbhQgf
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) May 8, 2025
Yet when asked if Cherington feels like he’s still the right person for the job, he didn’t hesitate to respond.
“Yeah, I feel just as much energy and commitment to this job as I have from the day I got it,” Cherington said. “I do this job only to serve Pittsburgh, only because I want to be part of delivering a team that our fans are proud of. That’s it. Period. That’s the reason to get up. That’s the reason to come here, do the work to do that. I believe that’s going to happen. I know that there’s frustration — and maybe anger — that it hasn’t happened yet. I believe it’s going to happen. I believe strongly I’m going to be a part of making it happen. I have a lot of confidence in our baseball operations group. We have to get better. I know that. Period.”
Where Cherington gets credit for convincing Nutting to sign third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, outfielder Bryan Reynolds and starting pitcher Mitch Keller to long-term contract extensions and for selecting the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year in right-hander Paul Skenes with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, he’s also responsible for their failure to develop hitters in the position player group and their inability to make impact additions through trades and free agency.
Cherington admitted the Pirates needed to make significant upgrades offensively after ranking at or near the bottom of the majors in most statistical categories. He traded for first baseman Spencer Horwitz, who has been out since undergoing surgery on his right wrist in February, and signed veteran free agents in designated hitter Andrew McCutchen, outfielder Tommy Pham and utility player Adam Frazier.
“Well, there’s certainly more that we wanted to do,” Cherington said. “There’s always more in an offseason that you want to do and, for whatever reason, can’t get to, can’t execute on, whatever.”
Cherington blamed the poor start on a combination of bad luck and players not meeting expectations, whether it’s veterans falling short of career norms or young players not bringing their game to another level.
“I believe we have the will to make this better, and I believe we will,” Cherington said. “Again, I don’t believe you have to squint too hard to see a better team in 2025, I really don’t. I’m not blind to the fact that we’ve (dug) ourselves in a hole, and we got to climb out of that. No way to do it but a pitch at the time. We all have that goal.”