With Pirates pitchers and catchers now working out in Bradenton and the full squad due by Monday, the team begins putting together a roster of young players, and they are also building their minor league system structure.
The team announced yesterday that Triple-A Indianapolis will bring back manager Brian Esposito and his entire staff, plus one more coach. At Double-A Altoona, the new manager will be Miguel Perez. David Newhan was retained as the hitting coach. The new pitching coach is Drew Benes, the new bench coach is Gary Green and the new trainer is Tyler Brooks. The team also announced new staffs for High-A Greensboro and low-A Bradenton.
At the Major League level, a pitching staff is in flux with a number of candidates. Mitch Keller and newly-signed Tyler Anderson are locks if healthy. Chad Kuhl and Steven Brault are strong candidates if they can avoid being traded, and the fifth spot is most likely J.T. Brubaker.
In a video shared by MLB.com, Brault says he loves being a starter and believes he’s earned it.
