Pirates GM Ben Cherington starts search for new farm director, says other changes coming

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Wednesday that changes are coming to the player development system, indicating that farm director Larry Broadway will be taking on a new role within the organization.

Broadway, 39, oversaw the Pirates’ farm system, ranked No. 16 by MLB.com, for nine years, serving as senior director of minor league operations the past three years. The Pirates have three top-100 prospects in their system — second baseman Nick Gonzales (No. 39), third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes (44) and shortstop Oneil Cruz (68), according to MLB.com.

“I think there will be some reorganization in player development, an area that we may see some adjustments in terms of leadership,” Cherington said on a conference call. “Larry and I have talked about that and look forward to working with him. He’s got a ton of talent. We’ve talked about, maybe this is an opportunity to start doing some different things for the Pirates, so we’re in the middle of that conversation, so I would expect there would be some change in the leadership in player development. …

“I do want to be clear it’s not specific to Larry. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him. He’s got a ton to offer and I look forward to working with him in the future. He’s got a chance to make an impact on the Pirates. I appreciate everything he’s done in helping (to get us) through a very challenging year.”

The restructuring was expected after Cherington was hired to replace Neal Huntington as Pirates’ general manager last November. Cherington spent the season evaluating the team’s front office and coaching staff.

“I think in other areas of the front office, not so much changes to titles and leadership, but we certainly continue to look into: How do we get better in those areas? And there will be some reorganization, maybe, within different groups, so we’re working through that, and certainly when we have more definitive information to share, we will share it as soon as we can.”

When asked about what he’s looking for in a new farm director, Cherington emphasized that the Pirates “want to be great at coaching.” That could be a sign that changes are coming within both the minor-league management and coaching ranks.

“If you think about player development, we need great players and we need great coaches with them,” Cherington said. “We need to identify what’s the leadership that gives us the best chance to be great at coaching. I mean every aspect of coaching. It’s not just the people in uniform on the field; it’s everybody, all the other staff. collaborating with that group. It’s how do we find the best possible coaches, continue to develop coaches, create the best environment for coaching to happen and ultimately (have) players get better?”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton declined to say whether there would be changes on his coaching staff. Shelton added bench coach Don Kelly, pitching coach Oscar Marin, assistant hitting coach Mike Rabelo, first base coach Tarrik Brock and assistant Glenn Sherlock, who handled catchers, to a staff that kept third base coach Joey Cora, bullpen coach Justin Meccage and hitting coach Rick Eckstein.

“We asked all of our coaches to go home and reflect after this season,” Shelton said. “I have to reflect, our baseball ops group has to reflect. It’s something we’ll continue to talk about.”