Ben Cherington is scheduled to address the firing of Derek Shelton during a 3 p.m. press conference. Bob Nutting will not be speaking. Both myself and Greg Macafee will be there with coverage. We’ll have live updates here. 

• Cherington thanked Shelton and said he "worked his tail off" for five-plus years. Said he's confident in saying that. 

• Cherington said it was clear now was time to make a change. 

"We aren't performing the way we need to. We're not performing the way our fans deserve. We need to be better."

• Cherington said there's no evidence that Shelton lost the players. Said it doesn't all fall on Shelton. 

"I believe we all need to do our jobs better. I believe we will. I don't think you have to squint too hard to see a stronger team on the field in 2025."

• Cherington said Kelly, who will be the permanent manager for 2025, is the right fit, first and foremost, because of who he is as a person. He said he has "so much faith" in his ability to serve in this role. 

"He's an elite human being and teammate. He comes to the ballpark every day focused on one thing: How to get better." 

• Cherington said there will be more clarity in terms of who will take over as bench coach in the coming days. 

• Cherington said he made a recommendation to Nutting and Travis Williams that they make this change. Nutting agreed. Cherington met with Shelton this morning and described it as a somber moment that Shelton handled as a pro. 

• Cherington said there was a belief late last year that progress was being made. The team got "punched in the face" the last two months, but Cherington believed Shelton had the will to translate the success prior to August into this season. 

• Cherington said he feels like he's the right man for his job. He said he does this job to serve the Pirates and deliver a team the fans can be proud of.

"I feel like I have just as much energy and commitment to this job as the day that I got it." 

• Cherington was asked about his comments last year when he said that he and Shelton would be "accountable together" and what changed between then and now, 38 games into the 2025 season: "We're both accountable, and I am still accountable right now. We were in this together every minute up until this morning, and it makes it a very difficult conversation and a very difficult choice. Certainly not lost on me, my part in that accountability. If I had done my job perfectly for five years, I might not be meeting with you today. That's certainly possible. I own that completely. This is not all on Shelty, and I believe it became clear to me that this was a choice we needed to make. I certainly feel accountable going forward." 

• Cherington on the Pirates' ugly start: "We have been doing some of the winning on the margins, probably not enough, but there are other reasons why we're not winning enough games. The big thing is we're not scoring enough runs."

• He added that some players aren't performing to their standards and other players who are running into "bad luck." Injuries have played a factor, too, he said. 

"There is still opportunity over time, and this is on me, to make the roster better. ... It's not a lack of effort from the hitting group or the players, we just have to have better run scoring."  

• Cherington said feedback comes from a lot of places, including players, but he hasn't had any conversations from players regarding Shelton's performance. It was his responsibility to do what he thought was best for the Pirates. 

• Cherington said he sees the player group doing whatever they can to stay together and be accountable during this 12-26 start. He added that Kelly has a calm about him that can help him help the guys in the clubhouse. 

• Cherington said they came off of last year knowing offensive production was going to be important and that they wanted to take a step forward. He said they pursued "a number of things" to add a corner outfielder and felt like Tommy Pham's track record of performance, mentality and toughness stood out to them. 

• Cherington said there was more he wanted to do this offseason, which is true of every offseason, he said. There were other corner outfield targets they chased down and didn't get. 

• Cherington said he believes the losing is what's weighing on the players more than anything that's been happening off the field. 

"I believe this group wants to deliver for Pittsburgh."  

• Cherington said he's not blind to the fact that they've dug themselves a hole here and need to climb out of that. Said it has to happen one pitch at a time. 

• Cherington said he understands the frustration with the way he's performed in his job: "It's part of the deal. If you accept this job and you're in it for this long and the results aren't there yet, that's going to be part of it."