Pirates announce Minor League coaching staffs
PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates on Thursday announced the managers, coaches and staff for their four full-season Minor League affiliates, a group headlined by returning Triple-A manager Brian Esposito and rising pitching coach Joel Hanrahan.
Esposito, 40, is returning for his third season at the helm of Triple-A Indianapolis and his eighth year coaching in the Pirates organization. He has a 372-336 career record as a Minor League manager, including a 139-141 mark in Triple-A.
Hanrahan, a two-time All-Star as the Pirates’ closer, continues his ascent up the coaching ranks. He joined Pittsburgh’s Minor League system as the Class A Short-Season West Virginia pitching coach in 2017, then advanced to Class A West Virginia (’18) and Double-A Altoona (’19). Now he’ll join the Triple-A coaching staff.
Last summer, Hanrahan said that coaching began to appeal to him while he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery as a member of the Tigers. Detroit's rehab facility was near its Gulf Coast League affiliate, and Hanrahan found he was excited to share what he’d learned during his career with the Rookie-level team’s young pitchers.
“I don’t fill them up with too much information. I don’t like to talk about myself. But they also know that when I do bring up a real-life experience, that may be something that happens with them,” Hanrahan said. “You can ask some of the players; I don’t talk about myself a lot, but when they start talking about it, being sarcastic, then I’ll roll with it.”
Right-hander Cody Bolton, one of the Pirates’ top pitching prospects, confirmed Hanrahan’s self-evaluation.
“He’s very relatable. He understands where we’re at, which is really good,” Bolton said last August. “It’s easy to listen to what he says, because he’s been there and he knows what he’s talking about.”
Like Hanrahan, hitting coach Jon Nunnally will move up from Double-A to Triple-A this year. Nunnally will be joined on the coaching staff by 32-year-old Argenis Diaz, a former shortstop who reached the Majors with the Pirates in 2010.
With last year’s Double-A staffers either moving up or out of the organization, the Pirates named Dave Turgeon the 11th manager in Altoona Curve history. Turgeon, 54, spent the last five years as Pittsburgh’s coordinator of instruction. He’ll be joined in Altoona by hitting coach David Newhan, pitching coach Tom Filer and coach Gera Alvarez.
Manager Miguel Perez will move up a level to lead Class A Advanced Bradenton, while Kieran Mattison will take over as manager for Class A Greensboro after spending last season with Rookie-level Bristol.
Here are the full coaching staffs for the Pirates’ four full-season affiliates.
Triple-A Indianapolis: Manager Brian Esposito, hitting coach Jon Nunnally, pitching coach Joel Hanrahan, coach Argenis Diaz, athletic trainer Justin Ahrens, strength and conditioning coach Alan Burr
Double-A Altoona: Manager Dave Turgeon, hitting coach David Newhan, pitching coach Tom Filer, coach Gera Alvarez, athletic trainer Jorge Islas, strength and conditioning coach Joe Schlesinger
Class A Advanced Bradenton: Manager Miguel Perez, hitting coach Chris Petersen, pitching coach Drew Benes, coach Kory DeHaan, athletic trainer Tyler Brooks, strength and conditioning coach Logan Byman
Class A Greensboro: Manager Kieran Mattison, hitting coach Jonny Tucker, pitching coach Stan Kyles, coach Salvador Paniagua, athletic trainer Matt McNamee, strength and conditioning coach Adam Marso