Benedict named Marlins VP, pitching development

The Marlins named Jim Benedict as vice president, pitching development on Friday, adding another highly regarded member of the Pirates' front office to their baseball operations staff.

Benedict spent the past seven years with the Pirates, most recently serving as a special assistant to general manager Neal Huntington. He was best known for his influential work with Pittsburgh's pitchers, developing highly touted arms like Gerrit Cole, and rebuilding injured players like Charlie Morton and Vance Worley alongside Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage.

In his new role with the Marlins, Benedict will work primarily with the organization's Minor League pitchers.

Benedict, 54, joined the Pirates' front office in October 2008. He served as the club's Minor League pitching coordinator from 2010-11. His emphasis was on player development the past few years, though he also served as an advance scout for the Bucs.

"There's no question Jim has helped us get better as individuals and as a collective," Huntington said. "He's helped several pitchers get better. He's helped our pitching program get better. He's helped our pitching coaches get better."

Benedict, who lives in Florida, was based out of the Pirates' Minor League complex in Bradenton. There, the pitching guru worked closely with many top Draft picks, including Cole and right-hander Jameson Taillon.

He also helped revamp pitchers like Morton, Worley and Clayton Richard, tweaking and occasionally transforming their deliveries after bouts with injuries and ineffectiveness.

Before joining the Pirates, Benedict served for two years as an advance scout for the Indians, and he spent six seasons with the Yankees as a pro scout and special assistant. He began his scouting career with the Rangers in 1990 and worked as a Minor League pitching coordinator for the Expos ('94-98) and Dodgers ('98-2000).

Benedict will join another former member of the Pirates' front office in Miami: Marc DelPiano, who left Pittsburgh in September to become the Marlins' vice president of player personnel. Like Benedict, DelPiano previously worked as a special assistant to Huntington.

"Part of our staple is to help staff members reach their personal and professional goals. Sometimes that means people have to leave the organization to pursue those individual ambitions," Huntington said. "This is one of those tough situations. At the same time, in part because of Jim, we've got a group of talented pitching coaches that will now have an opportunity to step up and take steps forward in their career and rise to the challenge."