PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates announced their 2017 Minor League coaching assignments on Friday, officially naming a number of new managers up and down their organization.
Andy Barkett will take over as the manager for Triple-A Indianapolis. Barkett, who spent this past year as Pittsburgh's Minor League assistant hitting coordinator, will replace longtime Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor, who became the Marlins' bullpen coach earlier this month.
Hitting coach Butch Wynegar and pitching coach Stan Kyles will return in the same roles for Indianapolis.
Michael Ryan, who managed the Pirates' Florida State League affiliate to a championship this past season, will move up a level to manage Double-A Altoona. Ryan will succeed Joey Cora, who managed Double-A Altoona in 2016 before replacing Rick Sofield as the Pirates' Major League third-base coach.
Kevin Riggs will return as Altoona's hitting coach. Bryan Hickerson was named the Double-A club's pitching coach, replacing highly regarded pitching coach Justin Meccage, who is now the club's Minor League pitching coordinator.
Assuming Ryan's former spot as Class A Advanced Bradenton's manager is Gera Alvarez, who spent the last three seasons as the Pirates' Dominican Republic academy coordinator. Alvarez also managed in the Dominican Summer League from 2012-14. Keoni De Renne will return as Bradenton's hitting coach, and Matt Ford has been named pitching coach, the same role he served for Class A West Virginia this past year.
Wyatt Toregas will manage the Class A West Virginia Power after leading the Short-Season Class A West Virginia Black Bears to a New York-Penn League championship in 2015 and a 38-38 record this past season. Ryan Long will return as hitting coach, and the Bucs have yet to name a Class A pitching coach.
Brian Esposito, who managed the Power last season, will swap roles with Toregas and lead the Black Bears while also serving as the Minor League catching coordinator in 2017. He'll be joined in Morgantown, W. Va., by hitting coach Jonathan Prieto and pitching coach Tom Filer.
The Rookie-level Bristol Pirates will be managed by Kory DeHaan for a second straight season. Bob Herold joins the Pirates organization to manage the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Pirates. Herold is the winningest coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and managed five seasons (1994-98) in the Royals farm system. Hitting coach Austin McClune and pitching coach Elvin Nina will round out the GCL staff.
Kieran Mattison, the GCL Pirates' hitting coach in 2016, will manage the club's Dominican Summer League affiliate. Bernie Castro will serve as hitting coach, Dan Urbina as the pitching coach and Cecilio Beltre and Gavi Nivar as additional coaches.