Report: Two Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Coaching Changes
According to a report, the Pittsburgh Pirates are set to announce a pair of minor league coaches for their upcoming 2020 season
Pitchers and catchers report to Bradenton in just three more weeks. With that, Spring Training 2020 will be underway for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
With Spring Training quickly approaching, teams are working to finalize their minor league coaching staffs. According to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are now closer to doing this.
On Wednesday, Mackey reported a pair of minor league coaching changes in the Pirate organization. The first of which involved the managerial position for the Double-A Altoona Curve.
According to the report, Dave Turgeon will lead the Curve in 2020. Turgeon has previously served as the Pirates’ coordinator of instruction, as well as having managed in the Arizona Fall League. Following a 13-year professional career, Turgeon has coached in the Cleveland Indians organization, as well as at the collegiate level with Uconn, Boston College, Duke, and Virginia Tech.
Another minor league coaching change being reported by Mackey is the promotion of Joel Hanrahan. The former All-Star closer for the Pirates spent the 2019 season as the pitching coach for the Curve. Now, he is set to be the pitching coach for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians in 2020.
Hanrahan’s name is one that was mentioned by some as a candidate before the Pirates hired Oscar Marin to be their pitching coach at the MLB level earlier in the off-season. All signs point toward Hanrahan being a MLB pitching coach one day, and this is the next step in that progression for the 38-year-old.