In 2013, the Pirates snapped a streak of two decades of losing and Ben Cherington's Red Sox captured the World Series. Now they will team up to try to recapture that magic.
Sources told DKPittsburghSports.com earlier Friday that Cherington was the Pirates preferred choice for their next general manager. And since then, multiple reports confirmed the process has been completed.
The team formally announced it'll have an introductory press conference for the new GM Monday, 11:30 a.m., at PNC Park, though without naming Cherrington.
The search for a new general manager began after Bob Nutting fired Neal Huntington on Oct. 28. He waited to make the move after new team president Travis Williams was in place, signaling a reboot of Pirates leadership.
"It's time for us to move forward and have that next chapter," Nutting told DKPittsburghSports.com on Oct. 28.
The search lasted 19 days. Cherington will be the 13th general manager in the franchise's history.
This will be Cherington’s second chance as a general manager. He climbed up the Red Sox front office and player personnel ranks before being named their general manager after the 2011 season. Boston would win the 2013 World Series but suffer three losing seasons before he was fired in August 2015.
Cherington left Boston with one of the strongest farm systems in the game upon his dismissal. Some of his more notable minor league acquisitions during his four year tenure were Rafael Devers, Eduardo Rodríguez and Andrew Benintendi. All three have been key contributors to the Red Sox in recent seasons, including their 2018 World Series winning team.
Cherington has served as the vice president of baseball operations for the Blue Jays since September 2016.
A source told DKPittsburghSports.com that Red Sox assistant general manager and executive vice president Eddie Romero could join Pittsburgh's front office if Cherington was hired. He has assisted in all baseball operations over the last four years and oversaw the Red Sox international signing and player development departments.
Cherington's first task will be finding a field manager. Huntington got the search started in October.
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