It was expected that, as soon as the World Series ended, the Pirates would probably make a significant hire.
Only instead of a manager, the Pirates will first have to hire a general manager, the initial order of business for new president Travis Williams.
“Our hope, again, is to be as efficient and effective and quick as possible while making sure that we don’t sacrifice getting the right person in place,” Williams said. “That would be on the baseball side priority No. 1.”
Williams was fairly tight-lipped about the potential hire, saying that — similar to the Penguins hiring Jim Rutherford to succeed Ray Shero — he expects to keep this pretty tight to the vest.
"We’re just starting the search now," Williams said. "We’re getting our arms around exactly what it is.
“I don’t think it would help the process if we started to get into the details of exactly what we’re looking for.
“This is going to be a process that we’re going to do as quickly and as efficiently as possible. We’re not going to comment throughout the process."
OK, but that doesn't stop us from looking at a few candidates who might make sense to replace Neal Huntington. Those include:
Matt Arnold, Brewers senior VP/assistant GM
In addition to Milwaukee, Arnold spent nine years with the Rays and also worked for the Dodgers, Rangers and Reds. … Was Tampa’s pro scouting director and was hired to become Brewers GM David Stearns’ No. 2 on Oct. 14, 2015. … Arnold is only 40 and graduated from the University of California-Santa Barbara with an economics degree. … Arnold was in Tampa around the same time as Derek Shelton, one of the Pirates’ managerial candidates..
Tony LaCava, Former Blue Jays interim GM
Probably the front-runner of the group. … Central Catholic graduate and Oakmont resident. … LaCava has long been a believer in analytics dating to his time with the Expos (director of player development). … Took over for Alex Anthopoulos in Toronto. … Had a hand in the Blue Jays acquiring young, talented players such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio.
Billy Owens, A’s assistant general manager
The front-runner for the Giants GM job. … Has spent the past 19 years with the A’s. … Would have the small-market experience the Pirates covet. … Considered an expert in scouting. … Checks all the boxes, but availability would be a big issue.
Marc DelPiano, Yankees pro scout
Has been a special assistant to the general manager with the Pirates. … Was responsible for recommending Russell Martin in 2013. … Had been working in a pro scouting role for the Yankees after the Marlins fired him from a VP of player development role along with three others when Derek Jeter took over in September 2017. … DelPiano definitely knows the market and has a solid scouting eye.
Jeff McAvoy, Dodgers scout/player personnel
Usually, it might be a fool’s errand to predict someone going from the Dodgers to the Pirates, but McAvoy worked for Andrew Friedman in Tampa and actually had small-market experience. … Was ironically in charge of scouting and eventually acquiring Chris Archer. … While the Dodgers couldn’t be more different from the Pirates from a financial perspective, McAvoy could help them fix their developmental and player-identification issues.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: October 28, 2019, 10:33 p.m.
