The Pittsburgh Pirates created a vacancy in West Virginia when they promoted 2012 manager Rick Sofield to the majors. Sofield will take over as the first base coach for the Pirates in 2013, while leaving West Virginia looking for a manager. Chuck McGill of the Charleston Daily Mail reports that the new manager in West Virginia will be Mike Ryan.
Ryan spent parts of five seasons in the majors, with most of his time coming in Minnesota. He only saw 299 career at-bats, with a .696 OPS. He spent 15 seasons in the minors, including one year with the Pirates in 2007, playing for Indianapolis. The Pirates signed him last year as a player/coach.
McGill also notes that Jeff Johnson will be returning to West Virginia as the pitching coach. Johnson was the pitching coach in West Virginia from 2009-2011. He moved to Altoona last season. That would leave Altoona without a manager and pitching coach at the moment.
