PIRATES

It might be an understatement to say that the Pirates' players are behind Don Kelly and want to see him get the opportunity to return as manager in 2026.

“No doubt,” Henry Davis told me when I asked that exact question to him this week in St. Louis. 

I talked to a few players inside the visiting clubhouse at Busch Stadium and the support for Kelly, who took over the managerial role May 8 without an interim tag, was unwavering. The common theme among them all: Kelly has instilled confidence in the group with the calm presence he provides, win or lose, and has only strengthened the connection he has with each of his players over time.

“You go out there, play your baseball as hard as you can every day, and he kind of gives you the freedom to do so,” Davis said. “Just the consistency, the presence he has, it's pretty much the same every single day, no matter what. I know that's tough because we all play 162 games and you want to win every single one of them, so it's tough for it not to carry over. One loss sucks the wind out of you and one win feels like you’re on top of the world, really because you're putting all this time in to get that result at the end of the day. When he can be so consistent, not only with his presence, but his body language, his demeanor, his energy every day, that's infectious. It bleeds into all the guys. And he's the head of the ship for that, for sure.”

Kelly very well could be back as the Pirates’ manager in 2026, but it’s no guarantee. When he took over, he wasn’t labeled as the team’s interim manager. Ben Cherington did specify, though, that Kelly’s position was “permanent for 2025” without guaranteeing his future in the role. 

While I’ve heard there hasn’t yet been discussions regarding Kelly’s status beyond this season, it matters what the players think of him. It matters that they feel comfortable with him at the helm and it matters that he’s capable of relating to them considering he played 584 games over nine seasons in the major leagues. 

“He just brings an upbeat, refreshing attitude,” Mitch Keller said. “Anyone who has been around Donnie knows how he is. He’s full of energy, he loves the game of baseball and he wants to fight for us because he was in this seat at one point in his life and he knows how hard it is and how stressful it can be. He really connects with us in that way where he knows the battles that the game brings.” 

Kelly might know the battles that the game brings more than others. He didn’t make any All-Star teams or put up Hall of Fame numbers during his playing career, but Kelly thrived in some big moments and carved out what Nick Gonzales described as “a bit of an underdog” role as a major-league player. He constantly had to prove himself. Now he's leading a group of players attempting to do the same. 

“That’s the perfect role and the perfect example for us,” Gonzales told me. “As the Pittsburgh Pirates, I think we’re always going to be the underdogs. He’s a great leader for us. He’s been there, he’s done that and he’s had to overcome so much in his career. He gets to start over and do it all again for us, so I think that’s pretty cool.” 

Kelly isn’t afraid to admit he doesn’t have it all figured out as a manager. But he’s clearly impacted this group of players over a span of three-plus months in which they’ve compiled a 47-50 record over his 97 games. 

“I’m still learning, man,” Kelly said with a laugh. “I’m trying to continue to learn from the staff, the players, everybody on how we can all continue to get better every single day, because that's what we got to do. In order to win in Pittsburgh, we have to keep getting better every single day.”

And if Kelly is provided with the opportunity to continue on as manager in 2026, the guys he's been leading since early May will be happy to fight for him, just as he's fought for them. 

“He’s done his job and he’s done all that you can ask for from a manager,” Gonzales said. “We all love him to death here. Obviously, I don’t make the decisions. That’s not something I have any control over, but if he’s here next year, that would be great. I would love to have him as my manager.” 

• The Pirates' pitchers continue to rave about Davis’ game-calling ability, one that stems from the work he puts in off the field to study each pitcher’s strengths and develop a game plan to put them in the best possible position to succeed. 

Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler have recently lauded Davis by discussing how rarely they have to shake him off. Following a recent start in Chicago, Carmen Mlodzinski even credited Davis for suggesting he make an adjustment where he’s shifting sideways on the pitching rubber. In turn, it’s allowed him to throw more strikes. 

And it’s not just talk. The numbers suggest that Davis is truly making an impact, regardless of who is on the mound. Consider this: In the 547 2/3 innings in which Davis has been behind the plate this season, pitchers have allowed 177 earned runs and compiled a 2.91 ERA with a .210 batting average against. Sure, those numbers are due in part to Davis being the personal catcher to Paul Skenes (1.90 ERA with Davis), but other pitchers have still managed to collectively compile a 3.26 ERA with him back there. 

There’s a reason guys like Ashcraft, Chandler, Mlodzinski and others have expressed their appreciation for Davis. There’s a massive amount of collective comfortability with him behind the plate, and with that comfortability comes an incredible amount of trust that continues to grow the more he’s back there. 

“It’s something I've been trying to earn every day,” Davis told me. “You have a blessing as a catcher of some responsibility in every pitcher's career that you catch. Obviously, it’s pretty easy to feel good about it when you get a staff like this. When in doubt, fall back on 100. But yeah, it's definitely good. I take a lot of pride in it.”

• More on Davis: He worked closely with Jason Kendall during his time coming through the Pirates’ system and credits him for “hammering home” the importance of building trust with each member of the pitching staff. 

“If you don't have a pitcher's trust, you have nothing, and it's earned,” Davis said. “You have to show that you care, show that you're putting in time to help be as prepared as possible when you're back there. I feel like I've improved in that because I've put a lot of work in, and I'm going to continue to do so.” 

• There might not be a coach on the Pirates’ staff who knows Spencer Horwitz as well as Matt Hague does. 

The two have a relationship that dates back to their time together in the Blue Jays’ system and were reunited this year when Hague took over as the major-league hitting coach and Horwitz was acquired in an offseason trade with the Guardians. 

Hague seems to appreciate every opportunity he gets to rave about Horwitz, who has made strides over this past year in the eyes of the Pirates’ first-year hitting coach. 

“I’ve known Spencer for a while now and I think the thing I’m most proud of is he’s in a completely different environment from what he’s used to, but he still wants to be great,” Hague told me during the team’s trip to Milwaukee earlier this month. “He continues to want to push himself and he knows how to get there.”

In a conversation I had with Horwitz earlier this summer, he said he didn’t feel any extra pressure when he made his team debut back in mid-May, despite the fact that he was one of the key offensive additions this past offseason. Instead, Horwitz felt an extra sense of motivation to produce for his new team. 

Hague doesn’t think there was any extra pressure on Horwitz, either. It just took some time for him to get his feet under him when he hit .216 and struck out 14 times in 51 at-bats over his first 14 games in a Pirates uniform. 

Now, after producing a .232 average, a .627 OPS, two home runs and 16 RBIs in 46 games prior to the All-Star break, Horwitz has turned things around at the plate, batting .283 with an .824 OPS, five home runs and 22 RBIs in 36 games following the break. In 82 games this season, Horwitz has a .254/.325/.388 slash line with a .713 OPS, seven homers and 38 RBIs. 

“These guys are used to performing under pressure, but I think it's something guys learn to deal with, and have dealt with in their careers,” Hague said. “They're in a new environment and trying to impress people, then it takes away from themselves. With his wrist injury and new team, those are real obstacles that he had to work through, and he did.”