Four Potential Coaching Staff Replacements For The Pittsburgh Pirates

Altoona Curve Manager Joey Cora

Prior to the start of the 2016 season the Pittsburgh Pirates hired Joey Cora to be the manager of the Double-A Altoona Curve. Cora brought 15 years of coaching experience to the Pirates’ organization. His coaching experience includes coaching on Major League staffs.

During his first season as Curve skipper Cora led the team to a 76-64 record. This record earned the Curve a postseason berth. It was also an improvement over their 2015 win total.

Joey Cora’s coaching career began in 2001 when he started a two-year stint as manager of the New York Mets’ rookie league team. He then spent seven seasons (2004-2011) as a Major League coach for the Chicago White Sox. This included him being bench coach from 2008 through 2011. Cora was also part of the White Sox coaching staff that won a World Series Championship in 2005.

When White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen went to Miami in 2012, Cora joined him. Once again, just as he was in Chicago, Cora served as Guillen’s bench coach.

Joey Cora has more than paid his dues in the Minor Leagues as a coach. Additionally, he has experience as a Major League coach. His Major League coaching experience is some great experience to boot. In my opinion, Cora would be a great addition to the Pirates’ coaching staff in 2017.

Indianapolis Indians Manager Dean Treanor 

Dean Treanor has been part of the Pirates’ organization since 2009. In 2009 he served as the pitching coach for Double-A Altoona. After one year in Altoona, he became the pitching coach for Triple-A Indianapolis in 2010. Treanor then got a big promotion when he became the Indians’ manager in 2011, a position he still holds.

Under Treanor’s guidance the Indianapolis Indians have done a lot of good on the field. He owns a .558 winning percentage as the Tribe’s manager, and has led them to multiple postseason appearances. He has also had a big hand in the development of players such as Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco, Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, and Josh Bell to name a few.

Dean Treanor is someone that Clint Hurdle puts a lot of trust in faith in. The work he has done at Triple-A has definitely given Hurdle good reason to be this way with Treanor. However, Hurdle’s faith and trust in Treanor could be both a blessing and a curse.

The trust and faith Hurdle has in Treanor undoubtedly has to make him someone Clint would love to have on his staff. However, Clint also has to love having someone like that overseeing things down at Triple-A. I would not be surprised to see Treanor join the Pirates’ staff, but it also would not surprise me if he were to remain at Triple-A.

Former Minnesota Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire

Much like Dean Treanor, Ron Gardenhire might be a pretty realistic option here. The former Twins’ manager and Clint Hurdle are extremely close friends. And, currently, Gardenhire is not coaching.

Ron Gardenhire was the manager of the Minnesota Twins from 2002 through 2014. During this time he had a .507 winning percentage, he won six division championships, and he was the 2010 American League Manager of the Year. Following the 2014 season, the now 59 year-old Gardenhire was removed as Twins’ manager and became a special assistant to the general manager.

If Ron Gardenhire would like to return to coaching, he would be a great addition the Pittsburgh Pirates’ staff. He is a former manager, he has won a World Series as a player, and he has won a lot as a manager. Gardenhire is also one of the best pure baseball minds out there.

Ex-Marlins Hitting Coach Barry Bonds

Alright, I’ll admit this one is a real long shot. Honestly, I think there is a less than zero percent chance this would happen. But that does not change the fact that there are few people more qualified than Barry Lamar Bonds.

Last season Bonds served as the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins. Under Barry’s guidance the Marlins’ saw their run per game production improve by half a run over the 2015 season. However, for reasons unknown to me, the Marlins let Bonds go at the end of the season.

On top of being arguably the greatest hitter that ever lived, in his younger years Barry was a Gold Glove outfielder as well as an elite base runner. Due to that, it is not hard to imagine him being a good outfield and base running coach for the Pirates. Plus, even though he would not be the hitting coach, having him available to work with young left-handed hitters such as Josh Bell and Austin Meadows couldn’t hurt.

As I said above, this is a total pipe dream on my part. I would be less surprised if I wake up tomorrow with 300,000 dollars in my bank account than I would be if Barry Bonds joined the Pittsburgh Pirates’ coaching staff. However, he is someone who makes a lot of sense.

Ultimately, the Pittsburgh Pirates will add a pair of new coaches to their staff this winter. Will it be one of the four candidates I mentioned? It is possible.

Of the four people I have pegged as possible candidates, I believe Joey Cora is the most likely to join the coaching staff. This is due to him already being in the Pirates’ organization, as well as having a lot of Major League coaching experience.

Next: Extension Candidate: Juan Nicasio

I am willing to bet that we will find out who Clint Hurdle is hiring to join his coaching staff sooner rather than later. Hopefully, the new third base coach does a better job than Sofield did there in recent years. Also, hopefully, we see improved base running in 2017 too.