Frank Coonelly spent 12 years as a labor specialist at a Washington, D.C., law firm, working as outside counsel for Major League Baseball along with another young attorney named Rob Manfred. Coonelly later came in-house as MLB's general counsel of labor before departing in 2007 to become president of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
On this week's episode of Executive Access, Coonelly sits down with MLB.com executive reporter Mark Feinsand to discuss why he's confident teams with smaller payrolls can compete for World Series titles, the difficulty of trading franchise icon Andrew McCutchen and how Pittsburgh has locked up key players like Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco to long-term contracts.

On Executive Access, Feinsand provides a unique look at the people building Major League teams by engaging in candid interviews with front-office personnel from around MLB. Each week, you'll find out how they broke into the game, why they do what they do and how they envision the future of baseball. Look out for new episodes on Tuesdays.
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