John Gibbons, the Kansas City Royals bench coach who had interviewed for the Pittsburgh Pirates manager position, is no longer a candidate for the vacant position. Gibbons was rumored to be a serious candidate earlier in the week, but apparently the Pirates have ruled him out of the race already.
The Pirates have interviewed seven people, although two are now eliminated. Gibbons joins Eric Wedge, who accepted the Seattle Mariners position, as candidates who have interviewed but won’t be getting the job. Jeff Banister, Ken Macha, Bo Porter, Carlos Tosca, and Dale Sveum are the remaining candidates who have officially interviewed. Porter is currently rumored to be the front runner for the vacant Florida Marlins position. Despite those rumors, the Post Gazette reports that Porter is still interested in the Pirates’ position, and that Florida may not be settled on Porter just yet.
There has been a lot of speculation that the Pirates may be waiting on one of the coaches of the remaining playoff teams. Rob Biertempfel speculated that Tony Pena could be one of the guys the Pirates are waiting on. That would explain why there hasn’t been an interview in the last week.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
