Pittsburgh Pirates Rumors: Could A Former World Series Winning GM Join The Front Office?

According to a report, the Pittsburgh Pirates are interested in hiring a former World Series winning general manager to join the front office as the team’s head of baseball operations

So far this offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been busy. After firing manager Clint Hurdle on the last day of the regular season, they have also part ways with former team president Frank Coonelly and general manager Neal Huntington.

As of now, they are still in search of a new general manager and manager. Former Pittsburgh Penguins executive Travis Williams has been named the team’s new president. Now, it appears the team may be looking to divvy up the president duties within the organization.

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, former Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington has emerged as a candidate to be the team’s new head of baseball operations.

This would be a strong hire for the Pirates. Cherington was the general manager of the Red Sox from October 2011 through August 2015. During his tenure as the Rd Sox GM, he helped to assemble a team that won the 2013 World Series Championship.

After taking a year away from baseball, Cherington has served as the vice president of baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays since the 2016 season. He is also a good friend of Huntington, who tried to hire Cherington to be part of the Pirate front office after he was fired in Boston.

The team looking at Cherington as the head of baseball operations could indicate that they would like to divvy up some of their front office duties. With Williams having no background in baseball, the team may look to put Williams solely in charge of the marketing and public relations side of things, while Cherington runs the baseball operations. This would be a wise move and a great hire by the Pirates.