PITTSBURGH — It was easy for Pirates fans to feel angry with how Derek Shelton's time here ended.

A 12-26 start to the 2025 season. A seven-game losing streak, not to mention the Pirates plateauing the previous year and frustration evident everywhere you looked.

Yet it wasn't surprising to see Shelton named Twins manager on Thursday, succeeding good friend Rocco Baldelli and returning to a place where he served as bench coach from 2018-19.

Minnesota likely looks at this and sees Shelton the person.

We saw Shelton the manager, and we certainly saw him struggle, finishing with a 306-440 record and never winning more than 76 games in a season.

Two points:

— I don't have a problem with Shelton getting another chance to manage. If anything, I'm happy for someone who truly was a decent human being, even if there are plenty of fair questions involving his pitching decisions, lineup construction and the team's constant struggles with fundamentals.

— It'll be fascinating to see what happens there as it relates to the Pirates.

First, though, let's address the vitriol that seems to exist around this move and fans once again ripping Shelton's in-game decisions.

The criticism is fair, don't get me wrong. Nobody finishes with a .410 winning percentage by accident.

But let's also not pretend Shelton's dugout was brimming with talent or that trades and the farm system — necessary underpinnings of any Pirates success — were strengths during the manager's tenure.

Jim Leyland, Joe Torre and Tony La Russa together could've only done so much, and let's further acknowledge Shelton's first three seasons were supposed to be bad.

The problem arose when the Pirates went from 62 wins in 2022 to 76 the following season and couldn't build on going 35-32 over their final 67 games that year.

Shelton's decision-making also didn't do him any favors.

He allowed Colin Holderman to face Joc Pederson on Aug. 4, 2024, despite the lefty hitter having an OPS nearly 200 points higher against right-handed pitchers. Southpaw Jalen Beeks was available. The only thing he did well was go left-on-left (.538 OPS against them).

There was also a weird Miguel Del Pozo obsession earlier in Shelton's tenure before Ka'ai Tom took the he-must-have-pictures torch. Shelton left poor Cam Vieaux to rot for a 56-pitch inning, another move that garnered criticism.

The odd thing that linked these occurrences? They came from a place of care.

Not that they should be excused. Shelton and the Pirates should've moved on from Del Pozo and Tom way, way earlier. Left-on-left was the matchup. Fifty-six pitches is crazy.

But Shelton knew he needed to get Holderman right, trusted his guy in a tough spot, Pederson crushed 100 mph located low-and-away, and Shelton looked dumb.

He gave Del Pozo and Tom opportunities because the rebuild was full steam, the front office had identified those guys as having traits that might help (if things improved), and Shelton wore it when they struggled.

Shelton worried he'd embarrass Vieaux — the wrong call but also understandable if you're trying to do right by the player.

The 10-game losing streak in August 2024, the period of time that ultimately sunk Shelton, also wasn't entirely his fault. Pitchers failed to execute in key spots. The offense lacked. Coaches are only part of poor fundamentals.

Once more, this isn't defending Shelton. I was critical of his quick hook with starters and other decisions with relievers that didn't always track — times where he'd ignore splits, others where the Pirates were overly adherent to some predetermined plan.

None of it, however, was because Shelton was dumb. Far from it.

A running joke we had was Shelton making fun of himself for occasionally using big words, saying he must've guessed right. Yeah, no. The guy knew numbers, knew patterns and actually knows baseball.

Every time he'd drop a big word, I'd type it into my phone, along with the date, opponent and any necessary context, and we'd review it every so often.

My point: Someone trusting Shelton to function differently in a different environment isn't altogether nuts.

The situation Shelton experienced here wasn't easy. There were times he likely felt like he had to do something, leading to over-managing, and he'd probably do it differently if given the chance.

Which brings us back to Thursday's news: Why shouldn't Shelton get another shot?

He's treated a lot of people around baseball well, myself included. He's had success in other spots. Yet with a rebuilding Pirates squad, the results stunk.

So what? He's certainly not the only one who's failed here.

Things got bad at the end, and the Pirates should've acted prior to last season, not during it. But pretty much until August 2024, Shelton had the clubhouse. His Pirates didn't play the smartest brand of baseball, but except for a few viral outliers, they mostly played hard.

It'll be fascinating to see where this lands. If Shelton can lead a Twins team that could be entering a mini-rebuild of its own back to relevance, what would it say about the Pirates?

In the meantime, I'm rooting for Shelton. People deserve the chance to learn, to show what they can do and grow. Imagine how sad the world would be if we were all labeled and discarded after failing at something once.

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