The Pittsburgh Pirates have a major decision to make this upcoming offseason about who will be the club's full-time manager moving forward. But perhaps that decision has already been made for them, as the best candidate for the job may be the man who is already doing it.
Don Kelly, who had been the Pirates' bench coach since the 2020 season, took over in May when manager Derek Shelton was fired after a 12-26 start to the season. While he was never given an "interim" tag – signaling trust and long-term consideration – questions remained about how long Kelly would remain as the Pirates' manager; after all, he had no prior managerial experience.