Pittsburgh Pirates: Team Lacking General Manager During Meetings

The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to most likely conclude their General Manager search this week.  They then can start looking to work some deals.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates still trying to lock down the future of their front office, the league’s offseason continues to press on.  This week is the annual General Manager meetings (not to be mistaken with the Winter Meetings).  Obviously, it is a bit of an issue that these meetings are going on without the Pittsburgh Pirates having a General Manager, although it is not a huge deal.

Still, interim GM Kevan Graves is likely there working through the process.  It is safe to assume that the Bucs have representatives as well as Korn Ferry (the firm they hired to conduct the search) there and very well could be conducting the final interviews at the meetings.

The candidates that the Pittsburgh Pirates are talking to are all likely at the General Manager Meetings.  Matt Arnold is the Brewers Assistant General Manager and Ben Cherington is the Toronto Blue Jays Vice President of Baseball Operations.  Both work directly alongside their organizations General Manager and are most likely at the meetings.

The third and final candidate remains to be unknown.  It is safe to assume that the person also works as a higher-up in another team’s front office, though Jason Mackey mentions that the belief is Graves is the other finalist.  The Bucs seem to be looking for someone with plenty of qualifications; including having success, building a strong farm system, and being analytically minded.

The General Manager meetings are often used for teams to discuss the business side of things in Major League Baseball.  However, there are typically some trade discussions that start during the meetings as well.  The Pittsburgh Pirates are likely using the meetings as a platform to find their next General Manager/President of Baseball Operations.  Hopefully, the team can get the person they want sooner than later so they can try to start laying the groundwork for the rest of the offseason.