Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Thursday that the club is identifying candidates outside the organization for a new hitting coach but is first looking internally to fill their major league third base coach and Triple-A manager openings.
Cherington said he is in the process of seeking permission from other MLB teams to interview candidates and expects interviews with hitting coaches to happen “sometime in the next week,” though it could take longer to make a decision on the hire.
Those were among a wide range of topics, including the health status of third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, that Cherington discussed in a 28-minute video conference call with Pittsburgh reporters as the club concluded their minor league awards celebration.
The Pirates fired hitting coach Rick Eckstein in late August, when they ranked at or near the bottom of baseball in many offensive categories. Third base coach Joey Cora and Indianapolis Indians manager Brian Epstein were fired after the season concluded.
“Specific to the hitting coach, we’ve had conversations with people who are not currently with teams,” Cherington said, without revealing specific candidates. “We expect to ask some permissions on some people sometime in the very near future, next several days, to seek permission to talk to people who are currently with teams. So we’d hope that can start to happen next week. We’ll see how the pace goes from there. I’d say we’ve started but certainly haven’t finished.”
Cherington said the club plans to retain the rest of the coaching staff that finished the season with the team, including assistant hitting coach Christian Marrero. But Cherington offered that they are considering changing some of the roles for the assistant coaches who return.
The Pirates are looking within the organization to fill the vacancies at third base and as manager of the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. Among the candidates could be Double-A Altoona Curve manager Miguel Perez and High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers manager Kieran Mattison, whose staff earned minor league coaching staff of the year honors this week.
“As far as third base and Triple-A, I think we’re first looking internally and looking at who is already in the organization and might have the skills to fit well in those roles,” Cherington said. “We felt like we may have some people who are capable and want to give that some consideration first.”
Cherington offered positive news on Hayes, who missed the first two months of the season with a left hand injury and was shut down for the final few days of the season when he experienced more soreness.
After visiting two doctors after the season, who conferred with the Pirates’ medical team, it was determined that Hayes would not require surgery.
“Everyone agreed with Key’s plan of action, which included first additional rest and therapy, and then a gradual introduction of strengthening and swing swinging activities as we get closer to the holidays,” Cherington said. “So he’s on track. We don’t expect this to impact his offseason at all. I talked to him last week, maybe 10 days ago, and he told me he felt good about the information he has and feels good about the offseason. So we’ll stay close to that, obviously.”
Cherington also added that the Pirates have “had dialogue” and are interested in having slugger Yoshi Tsutsugo return next season. Tsutsugo, who had eight home runs and 25 RBIs in 43 games with the Pirates, can become a free agent at the conclusion of the World Series.
“Certainly enjoyed our time with him,” Cherington said. “We’re obviously getting closer to free agency, and so we’ll see. It may be that he gets to free agency. I know he went back to Japan, and I believe is still in Japan right now and getting re-settled with the family and reacclimated. So we’ll look forward to our next conversation with him and remain interested in bringing him back.”
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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Pirates GM: Looking outside for hitting coach, internally for 3B coach, Triple-A manager - TribLIVE
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