There are three new candidates, two external and one internal, for the Pirates managerial opening.
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal tweets Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro and Pirates third base coach Joey Cora have both interviewed for the job. In addition, Craig Mish of the Fantasy Sports Network reports Dodgers first base coach George Lombard has also interviewed.
Quatraro spent one season as the Rays bench coach in 2019 and one as their third base coach in 2018. Before then, he spent four seasons as the Indians assistant hitting coach and four years as a minor league hitting coordinator with the Rays. He was a manager in the Rays' farm system from 2006-2009.
In addition to his bench duties, Quatraro also worked with the team's outfielders on positioning.
Quatraro has also interviewed for the Giants managerial opening.
Lombard just completed his fourth season as the Dodgers first base, baserunning and outfield coach. Lombard was briefly the Braves minor league field coordinator in 2015 and was the Red Sox minor league outfield and base running coordinator from 2013-2015. He spent two years managing the rookie Gulf Coast League Red Sox from 2011-2012.
Cora has served as the Pirates third base coach and infield instructor the past three seasons. He looked like a candidate to one day replace Clint Hurdle when he was added to the major league coaching staff in 2017, but the Pirates struggled in both of his areas of focus last year. The Pirates made more outs at home than any other team in 2019 and the infield accumulated -16 defensive runs saved.
Cora managed the Pirates Double-AA affiliate Altoona Curve in 2016.
Rosenthal also confirmed Mark Kotsay had an interview. Kotsay has been the Athletics quality control coach since 2018 and was already connected to the job.
There are now eight known candidates who have interviewed for the job. The other four are Jeff Banister, Athletics bench coach Ryan Christenson, Cardinals first base coach Stubby Clapp and Twins bench coach Derek Shelton.
