Tigers fan favorite to replace fired Pirates manager Derek Shelton

All told, former homegrown Tigers utilityman Don Kelly spent 16 years with the organization one way or the other. He was an eighth-round draft pick in 2001 but struggled in the minors, which led him to short stints with the Pirates — who gave him his major league debut in 2007 — and the Diamondbacks, who kept him in Triple-A during his one year there.

He returned to the Tigers in 2009, where he stayed until 2015 and became a fan favorite for his versatility, friendliness, and occasional penchant for doing something incredible, before he headed to the Marlins to wrap up his playing career.

After retiring, he came back to Detroit as a member of the front office before leaving to take a role as his hometown Pirates' bench coach in 2019.

On Thursday, the Pirates announced that they had fired Derek Shelton, their manager since 2020, and that Kelly would be taking his place at the helm.

Shelton has a .410 record with the Pirates; they're currently stuck in dead last in the NL Central at 12-26 and have lost nine of their last 10 games. Pirates fans are discouraged for a lot of reasons, and they've (rightfully) directed many of their frustrations at a triad of Shelton, GM Ben Cherington, and owner Bob Nutting.

Kelly might be inheriting a poisoned chalice here, but Pirates fans have already started celebrating.

Former Tigers fan favorite utilityman Don Kelly is replacing Derek Shelton as Pirates manager

The Pirates never broke fourth place in the NL Central during Shelton's tenure; his best finish with them was a 76-86 record last season, when they still ended up in last place. Although he certainly doesn't have a lot of great raw talent to work with in the first place (outside of, of course, Paul Skenes), which can be blamed more on the front office and ownership than Shelton himself, Shelton's come under fire repeatedly for poor bullpen management and the pure inability to facilitate a culture that's actually striving to win.

Kelly could be, at least, a spark plug for the Pirates. He spent all of his tenure in Detroit under Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland, so maybe he can bring some of that magic dust to Pittsburgh as they attempt to crawl out from under the hole they've dug this season under Shelton.