BRADENTON, Fla. -- The line of succession for the Pirates’ manager might have changed in the past week.
Clint Hurdle is under contract through 2021. By then, he will be 64 years old and likely either head into retirement or stay with the Pirates as a special assistant/goodwill ambassador.
Tom Prince was considered the manager-in-waiting since being promoted from minor league field coordinator to major league bench coach prior to the 2017 season. Though the thought was never expressed publicly by anyone associated with the team, it was assumed Prince would serve an apprenticeship at the right hand of Hurdle before replacing him.
However, that plan no longer seems like a sure thing after Jeff Banister rejoined the organization Sunday as a special assistant in the baseball operations department.
Banister spent the past four seasons managing the Rangers. He compiled a 325-315 record, won two American League West titles and was the AL Manager of the Year in 2015.
It is not that Prince might not be a capable manager if given the chance. The Reds interviewed him for their vacancy in October before hiring David Bell. However, Banister has a track record of success at the major league level. Furthermore, he is held in such high regard by the Pirates — he was one of two finalists with Hurdle for the manager’s opening following the 2010 season.
Hurdle got the job and Banister served as his bench coach for three years before being hired in Texas. And, of course, Banister spent the first 29 years of his professional baseball career with the Pirates until joining the Rangers.
Banister and Prince aren’t the type of guys who will lobby for the job, either publicly or behind people’s backs. So, the two former Pirates catchers should be able to easily coexist in the organization.
While Banister's role is fluid, he is likely to spend much of the upcoming season with the major league team. That is seemingly a strong indication that he is the odds-on favorite to be the next manager.
MORE PIRATES
• Participation in the annual minicamp, which concluded Thursday at Bradenton, Fla., is voluntary under terms of the collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players. Still, participation by the Pirates' major league players was at an all-time low since the team began holding the camps in 2001. None of those projected to be in the opening day lineup March 28 at Cincinnati showed up. The three most recognizable players -- Gregory Polanco, Chris Archer and Joe Musgrove -- were there because they are recovering from surgery. One press box wag once opined that minicamp’s main purpose is to give baseball people an opportunity to escape the cold weather. It appears he was right. -- Perrotto
• David Eckstein, another new special assistant to Huntington, once told me during his playing days that he could recite the 1979 Pirates’ starting lineup when he was 4 years old. With that in mind, it was cool to see Eckstein meet Omar Moreno, another special assistant, this week. Moreno, of course, was the center fielder and leadoff hitter in ’79, the last time the Pirates won the World Series or even reached the Fall Classic. -- Perrotto
• For what it's worth, the sports book at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas has set the over/under at 78.5 for the Pirates’ win total this year. Last season, the projection was 75 wins and they finished 82-79. -- Perrotto
STEELERS
• So Art Rooney II can't envision Antonio Brown being part of the Steelers in 2019, but isn't going to release him. Rooney then said all other "options" are on the table. If the Steelers aren't willing to release Brown and Rooney can't envision him being on the team in 2019, that leaves only one other option: A trade. But the Steelers aren't going to get a top-5 draft pick for Brown. People who think that are dreaming. The only way that could happen is if the Steelers also gave up their first-round pick, which is 20th. A player-for-player deal also is difficult since the Steelers not only would have to eat Brown's $21.2-million cap hit, they also would have to take on the incoming player's salary. So the people hoping the Steelers will trade him to Arizona for Patrick Peterson and his $11 million base salary in 2019 are likely dreaming, as well, since that would mean the Brown/Peterson deal would cost the Steelers approximately 17 percent of their 2019 salary cap. So it's likely draft pick(s) and/or a young player still on his rookie contract that will be the Steelers' asking price. -- Dale Lolley
• It will be interesting to see who Mike Tomlin hires to replace outside linebackers coach Joey Porter. As former Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats told me last spring, the team's defensive scheme has changed dramatically over the past few years in terms of what it asks of its outside linebackers. Instead of simply being de facto rush ends, the outside linebackers drop into coverage now more than ever before. That still added up to a combined 18.5 sacks out of the duo of T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree in 2018. But it wouldn't be surprising to see an outside linebackers coach added who is more adept at teaching pass coverage than pass rush moves. -- Lolley
• It also wouldn't be surprising to see Tomlin add another assistant coach to his staff at a yet-to-be-determined position. Remember, when Randy Fichtner was elevated to offensive coordinator, he kept the duties of quarterbacks coach, the position he had previously held on staff. John Mitchell also was moved out of his spot as defensive line/assistant head coach. And while Mitchell still retained the title of assistant head coach, his duties involved overseeing staff development and working with current and former players in career development. So the Steelers, who already have one of the smallest coaching staffs in the league, were down a coach in 2018. The new assistant coach -- regardless of position -- could be someone who works in the coaching booth to monitor replay challenges. The Steelers aren't going to hire someone simply to do that job and nothing else. But Tomlin has to have somebody in the coaching booth he trusts on such matters, something he hasn't had of late. That said, coaching challenges as a whole were less successful in 2018. According to FootballZebras.com, at midseason, coaches were just 29 of 77 (38 percent) on challenges, which have been handled by Al Riveron in New York the past two seasons. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
• The Penguins' vaunted "depth down the middle" could get a serious makeover in 2019, as four of the Penguins' centers -- Derick Brassard, Riley Sheahan, Matt Cullen and Derek Grant -- are pending unrestricted free agents. While one or two could be moved before the Feb. 25 trade deadline (Brassard has an eight-team, modified no-trade clause) and others could still be re-signed this summer, the Penguins recognize they need to get younger and cheaper after handing out a five-year, $30 million contract extension to Jake Guentzel Dec. 27. The aforementioned four accounted for a combined cap hit of $6.4 million this season. That leaves the door open for players in Wilkes-Barre, such as Teddy Blueger, J-S Dea, Sam Lafferty and Thomas DiPauli, to vie for spots on the NHL roster. -- Chris Bradford
• Perhaps the most intriguing UFA the Penguins will have this summer is Casey DeSmith, whose two-year, $1.35 million contract is expiring. Despite taking the loss to Chicago last Sunday, DeSmith has been rock solid this season and helped spur the Penguins' turnaround before Matt Murray returned from injury on Dec. 15. DeSmith's .924 save percentage ranks fifth among all goalies. What complicates things is that Tristan Jarry has been viewed as the long-term backup to Murray and his contract reflects that. Jarry, who is 10-6-3 with a .910 save percentage and 2.80 goals-against average in the AHL, signed a two-year, $1.35 million contract last summer, but it calls for a one-way contract in 2019-20. That means Jarry will make $675,000 regardless of whether he plays in Pittsburgh or Wilkes-Barre. Just several hours after this was published, DeSmith was extended. -- Bradford
• As one of the most accomplished coaches in the NHL, Mike Sullivan has long professed his respect for Bill Belichick, perhaps the best coach of all-time in any sport. We also know that Sullivan is a New England native living in Pittsburgh. When asked about the Patriots in press-conference settings, Sullivan does a good job of deflecting the questions as to not stir a hornet's nest in Steelers territory. But I'm told that the Marshfield, Mass., native is more of a Patriots fan than he lets on. Hockey always comes first, but a source tells me Sullivan watches most every game when he can and is known to ask for scoring updates when he can't. -- Bradford
• Last week, the Penguins hosted three children through the Make-A-Wish program of Greater Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Each child signed a special one-day "contract," was treated to a breakfast in the locker room with the players and attended practice. While all players did a yeoman's job in representing themselves and the organization, no one seemed to enjoy it more than Derek Grant. The big fourth-line center has a big heart. In his hometown of Vancouver in October, he hosted a number of special-needs kids at the Penguins' morning skate and also works a camp in the summer for children with learning disabilities that are unable to play in regular youth hockey organizations. -- Bradford