The Pirates are making some modifications to their entrance workplace, per a report from MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf. Stumpf notes that director of teaching and participant growth John Baker is shifting into a brand new function with the membership that may see him oversee the membership’s efficiency staff. Whereas the transfer has not been introduced by the membership thus far, Stumpf provides that the seek for a brand new farm director is already underway as Baker vacates the place.
A former participant who spent elements of seven seasons within the large leagues, Baker retired from his taking part in profession in 2015 and caught on with the Cubs of their entrance workplace that offseason as a particular assistant. Baker ultimately stepped into the function of psychological abilities coordinator with Chicago and remained in that function with the membership till he departed for Pittsburgh throughout the 2020-21 offseason to tackle his aforementioned function as director of teaching and participant growth. As Stumpf notes, the Pirates started implementing extra individualized growth plans for his or her gamers below Baker’s management.
With Baker now altering roles, the Pirates might want to fill each the farm director function. As Stumpf notes, that’s not the one high-level function that’s as of but unfilled in Pittsburgh because the membership may even want to rent a brand new director of professional scouting after shifting him to a distinct, unspecified function inside baseball operations. These yet-to-be-named farm and professional scouting administrators will be part of a wave of personnel hires by the Pirates this winter that already consists of worldwide scouting director Max Kwan, VP of analysis and growth Kevin Tenenbaum, hitting coach Matt Hague, and assistant pitching coach Brent Strom.
Extra notes from across the NL Central…
- Cubs followers acquired some excellent news yesterday when Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reported that right-hander Ben Brown has been cleared for a traditional throwing program this offseason. The 25-year-old was acquired by the membership on the 2022 commerce deadline within the deal that despatched right-hander David Robertson to Philadelphia however didn’t make his large league debut till this yr. The teen regarded fairly good for the Cubs early within the season with a 3.58 ERA and three.11 FIP in 55 1/3 innings of labor whereas swinging between the rotation and bullpen. He struck out 28.8% of opponents confronted in opposition to a stroll charge of 8.6% however noticed is time within the majors minimize brief by a stress response in his neck that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Chicago reportedly plans so as to add a beginning pitcher to the rotation alongside Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, and Jameson Taillon this winter, which may go away Brown to both compete with Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks for the fifth spot within the rotation this spring or else spend the yr within the bullpen.
- The Cardinals are hiring Matt Pierpont as their director of pitching, as Pierpoint himself famous on X (h/t to Adam Jude of The Seattle Occasions). Pierpont, 33, pitched within the minor leagues for seven seasons earlier than catching on with the Mariners as a coach previous to the 2021 season. Since then, he’s risen inside the group to the function of pitching coordinator. Now, he’s been promoted once more as he strikes on to St. Louis, the place he’ll be tasked with working to enhance the membership’s inner pitching choices. Andre Pallante and Sem Robberse are among the many younger pitchers at or close to the foremost leagues, whereas high prospect Tink Therefore dominated the Double-A degree and will additionally look to make his large league debut in some unspecified time in the future in 2025.
