Pirates Move On From Key Front Office Figure

John Baker and His Tenure with the Pirates

Baker joined the Pirates' front office in November 2020 as the director of coaching and player development, which was somewhat similar to a farm director.

The plan from Baker saw him implement a different type of development, one that looked at the player itself and developed that individual, specifically, rather than a more broad approach.

There were good results from this process, with the development of pitchers like Paul Skenes and Jared Jones, but also poor results from their hitting, which was poor during Baker's time and terrible last season.

Baker then spent one year in the role of vice president of performance, which included roles such as sports science, mental skills, nutrition and strength and conditioning, according to Alex Stumpf of MLB.com.

Baker Before the Pirates

He held one previous role in an MLB front office, working as both a mental skills coordinator and head applied mental skills coach with the Chicago Cubs.

Baker played seven seasons as a catcher in the MLB, four seasons with the Florida Marlins, 2008-11, two seasons with the San Diego Padres, 2012-13, and with the Cubs in 2014.

He featured in 359 games over those seven seasons, slashing .247/.330/.341 for an OPS of .671 with 266 hits, 57 runs scored, one triple, 14 home runs, 14 home runs, 120 RBIs, 127 walks to 269 strikeouts.

Baker also signed with the Seattle Mariners on a minor league contract in 2015, who eventually released him.

Other Important Pirates Front Office Decisions

The Pirates lost one of their best front office people in Justin Horowitz, who spent the past two seasons as the director of amateur scouting, as he joined the Washington Nationals as their new president of baseball operations.

Horowitz led the Pirates in the past two MLB Drafts, as they took Konnor Griffin ninth overall in 2024, who is now the top prospect in baseball, and right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez sixth overall in 2025, who is a top 30 prospect in baseball.

The Pirates did reportedly hire a new pitching coach in Bill Murphy from the Houston Astros, after they chose not to bring back former pitching coach, Oscar Marin, after the 2025 season.

Murphy, who was the pitching coach for the Astros the past four seasons, 2022-25, led the team to the lowest ERA and the second-best K/9 during his tenure.