In the next few weeks, Bob Nutting will name a new general manager and manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He already has a new president in place who will chart a plan he hopes eventually will lift a struggling team back among the National League’s contenders.

A couple of coaches were sent to the unemployment line, too, and others are sure to follow.

Change — and plenty of it — is everywhere inside PNC Park.

After the Pirates went 69-93 and finished last in the NL Central, Nutting, the team’s chairman, and his management team must find a way to reshape the clubhouse culture, win back a fan base new president Travis Williams already labeled as “angry” and — getting down to basics — find better players.

“Frankly, I just watched too many times former Pirates achieving success at other clubs, which is also incredibly disturbing both to me and, I know, to our fans,” Nutting said Monday while speaking with reporters at PNC Park.

Punctuating that sad reality is Nutting fired former general manager Neal Huntington on Sunday, the same day former Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole, who was traded in 2018 two years before he was eligible for free agency, won Game 5 of the World Series for the Houston Astros.

But there’s something else Nutting hopes to change in the months leading up to Opening Day 2020: how outsiders view the economics surrounding his team.

“I think one piece we absolutely need to change is the current narrative around the economics of Pittsburgh baseball and baseball overall,” Nutting said. “It is simply not an accurate narrative that the team is generating enormous cash or deciding not to fully invest (in the team).”

Nutting recognizes the realities of fielding a team in a small market.

“There is no question it will always be about how effectively we can deploy dollars,” he said. “It’s absolutely true that in the uneven playing field of baseball, we have been able to see success (three playoff berths earlier this decade). And other organizations, whether it’s Tampa Bay or Oakland, have been able to show success in this economic model.

“But it’s not realistic that we’re going to be on an economic even playing field, and it’s completely unlike hockey or football in a salary cap sport. There’s always going to be enormous disparity in the game, and we need a team that can embrace, understand and do the best we possibly can, given our market size.”

Nutting wouldn’t commit to increasing the payroll. In fact, he declined to discuss future spending during the 35-minute question-and-answer session.

“I think it’s too early to talk about payroll for next year,” he said. “We need to get a general manager in.”

But he and Williams are in agreement success in baseball isn’t necessarily tied to players’ salaries.

“I believe we can (be competitive as a small-market team),” Nutting said. “If we didn’t believe that, we wouldn’t be moving forward.

“And, frankly, Travis,” he said, turning to Williams, “I don’t think you would be here.”

Seated next to Nutting, Williams replied, “Exactly.”

Nutting said he started formulating his plan for change early in August as the team was losing 24 of 28 games after standing only 2½ games out of first place at the All-Star break.

He said he conducted multiple discussions with “people that I trust and respect in and around baseball.” After each one, he came to the same conclusion.

“Real deep and complete change was needed for this organization,” he said.

So after firing manager Clint Hurdle on the last day of the season and later pitching coach Ray Searage and bench coach Tom Prince, he accepted former president Frank Coonelly’s resignation last week.

Nutting completed the total sweep of his three key operatives when Huntington was ousted after 12 seasons.

Why fire Huntington now?

Nutting said he wanted to get a new president in place so Williams could begin the search for a new general manager.

“I own the decision of replacing Neal, and I have a tremendous amount of respect and affection for him,” Nutting said. “We worked closely together for more than a decade, so I thought it was my responsibility to make that shift prior to a new individual coming in to lead the charge.”

Huntington, who helped build the team that ended the Pirates’ 20-year streak of losing seasons, had started interviewing candidates to replace Hurdle, a process Nutting said gives the management team a place to start.

“I think having the managerial interviews underway makes all the sense in the world,” he said. “I’m glad we’re not starting today on that process.”

But he said the search for a new manager will put on hold until Huntington’s replacement is named.

“If we began manager interviews in two to three weeks from now, we’d be way behind,” Nutting said. “I think the ground work that’s been laid, the sorting that’s been done, the candidates that we’ve identified have been correct and important work.”

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