Notes: RIP Kim, Coaching Cha Cha, Minors Stuff, Exes In the News

Long, long winter…

Notes: 

• In a Q&A format, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline has his thoughts on Pirates prized prospect RHP Quinn Priester.
• Minor league deals: The Pirates signed LHP Mitchell Miller, 24, from Clemson and West Texas State; he tossed for the Ogden Raptors (5-4/5.91; 87 K in 70 IP) of the Pioneer League in 2021. They also added Oregon OF/C Jakob Goldfarb, 25, who also played for Ogden last season (.342, 25 HR).
• Dan Meyer, 40, was named minor league pitching coach, replacing Joel Hanrahan after spending the past seven years with Atlanta as a minor league PC and manager. Chris Truby, 48, is the new Minor League Infield Coordinator, a spot he held with the Phillies since 2014, plus he has some farm managing experience with both the Bucs and Phils. Also, Dewey Robinson, 66, was added as the Special Advisor, Pitching Development, Coaching & Player Development after coaching since 1987 for Chicago, Houston and Tampa Bay. He was the White Sox bullpen coach for two years, the Astros pitching coach for two more years and recently the Rays Director of Pitching Development. If the names sound familiar, all three made Bucco stops as players, albeit at the AAA level.

• The Pirates have hired Caitlyn Callahan as a development coach after spending the last two years as  an intern with the Reds’ video and development team. A former D-1 softball player from St. Mary’s, she’ll be the first uniformed female coach in Pittsburgh franchise history.
• The Pirates have hired Eric Munson, 44, who has been running the Gold Star Athletics baseball academy in Iowa, as Indy’s hitting coach. He’s also played parts of nine MLB seasons with the Tigers, Tampa Bay, Houston and Oakland. The coach he’s replacing, Jon Nunnally, will remain with the organization in a new but yet undetermined role.
• Sad news: Kimera Bartee passed away suddenly at age 49. He worked 12 seasons for the Pirates, and was the  first base coach from 2017 to 2019. He spent last year with the Tigers as first base coach.
• RHP Ivan Nova, 34, signed a one-year deal with the Korean League SSG Landers for $1M. He tossed for the White Sox and Tigers following Pittsburgh and didn’t work any MLB frames in 2021 after being released by the Rockies in April.
• Guy to watch after the CBA is settled: Before the lockout, Josh Harrison, 34, had multiple offers after drawing interest from 10+ clubs, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet.ca. J-Hey hit .279 with a 106 OPS+ & 2.1 WAR while playing six positions for the Nats and A’s.