Pittsburgh Pirates Hire Steve Sanders as Assistant GM

Ben Cherington has hired Steve Sanders as the Pittsburgh Pirates new Assistant GM according to reports.  Sanders comes over from the Toronto Blue Jays.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Pittsburgh Pirates have hired Toronto Blue Jays Director of Amateur Scouting Steve Sanders as assistant general manager.  Sanders, 31, has been serving in his role for the Blue Jays since he was hired in 2016.

Sanders has a history with current Pirates GM Ben Cherington.  Sanders was a scouting assistant in the Red Sox front office starting in 2012 which was Cherington’s first season as Boston’s GM.  Sanders served as Director of Amateur Scouting the past three seasons, the same three seasons that Cherington worked in Toronto.

Sanders was able to take a thin farm system and help to turn in into one of the better ones in all of baseball.  As the man in charge of amateur scouting, he has been able to assist in drafting successfully in Toronto’s ability to revamp their minor league system.

In his first draft in 2017, the Blue Jays had two first-round pics and took University of North Carolina infielder, Logan Warmoth, with the 22nd pick and JUCO right-handed pitcher Nate Pearson at No. 28.  Pearson is currently the 10th best prospect according to MLB.com

In the following draft in 2018, Toronto selected prep infielder Jordan Groshans with pick No. 12.  Groshans is currently the 67th best prospect on MLB.com’s Top 100 list.

This past season, he took right-handed pitcher Alek Manoah out of WVU with the 11th selection who has impressed in his brief time in the Jays’ system.

Sanders seems to be a hire that checks off a lot of boxes for what the Pirates need in their organization.  He comes from a scouting and developing background and has had a big role in Toronto’s ability to successfully identify and draft promising young players. At just 31 years old, Sanders has been a fast riser in the industry and seems like a future star.

It appears as though Sanders is the replacement for Kyle Stark, who was dismissed earlier in the offseason.  It is unknown if or when there will be any other front office shakeups at this time. However, expect this week to be busy with the Winter Meetings just a week away.