Pirates announce Minor League staffs
Four of the seven affiliates retain their managers from last season
The Pirates have finalized their Minor League coaching, coordinator and staff assignments for 2014 and have announced that four of their seven affiliate managers will return for another season.
Dean Treanor (Triple-A), Carlos Garcia (Double-A), Michael Ryan (Class A) and Milver Reyes (Rookie) will all be returning to the managerial roles they held last year. Trenor, Ryan and Reyes each led his respective club into the postseason in 2013.
Tom Prince will assume managerial duties for the Class A Advanced affiliate in Bradenton (Fla.) after most recently serving as the organization's Minor League coordinator of instruction. Brian Esposito, a player/coach for the Pirates last season, takes over as manager of short-season Jamestown (N.Y.), and Edgar Varela will manage the Pirates' new Advanced Rookie Appalachian League team in Bristol (Va.). Varela was on the Bradenton coaching staff last season.
Mendy Lopez, a Major League infielder from 1998-2004, will manage the Pirates' team in the Dominican Summer League. The organization's Dominican Academy will be overseen by Gera Alvarez.
Frank Kremblas and Dave Turgeon, both of whom served as Minor League managers for Pittsburgh affiliates in 2013, will be moving into coordinator positions. Turgeon will be the organization's assistant field coordinator under returning field coordinator Brad Fischer. Kremblas will be a special assistant to player development, a position he held in 2012.
Also returning to coordinator roles are Kimera Bartee (outfield/baserunning), Gary Green (infield), Scott Mitchell (pitching), Woody Huyke (senior advisor to player development) and Luis Silverio (senior advisor to Latin American Operations). Larry Sutton, who served as the Dominican field coordinator for the last two seasons, steps in as the new hitting coordinator.
On the strength and conditioning side, Bernie Holliday (director of mental conditioning) and Tyson Holt (mental conditioning coordinator) return and will be working with new assistant coordinator of mental conditioning Hector Morales.
Carl Randolph returns as the organization's athletic training coordinator, while Carlo Alvarez has been hired to be the sport performance coordinator. Kiyoshi Momose (Latin American strength and conditioning coordinator), Joe Hughes (athletic development coordinator) and Wes Eberlin (rehab coordinator) have all been retained.
Monday's coaching and staff assignments were announced by Larry Broadway, the Pirates' director of Minor League operations.