The Pirates announced the hiring of Miguel Perez as bullpen coach on Friday afternoon. He’ll take over for Justin Meccage, with whom the club parted ways at the end of the season.
Perez, 41, is a former professional catcher. He had a cup of coffee with the Reds in 2005 amidst a 12-year minor league career. Perez finished his playing days in the Pittsburgh system in 2013. He moved directly into coaching. Perez has spent the past decade coaching and managing at various levels of the Bucs’ organization. He has managed their Triple-A team in Indianapolis for the last three years, overlapping with players like Oneil Cruz and Endy Rodríguez along the way.
While he wasn’t a pitcher himself, Perez’s catching background means he’s comfortable with pitching staffs. He’ll work alongside pitching coach Oscar Marin and assistant pitching coach Brent Strom to try to turn the relief group around. Pittsburgh relievers had the fourth-highest ERA in the majors this season, allowing 4.49 earned runs per nine. They ranked 20th in strikeout percentage (22.9%) while posting the seventh-worst walk rate (10%). The top priority is getting David Bednar on track after the star righty turned in 5.77 ERA and relinquished the closer role late in the season.
