After the Pirates fired manager Clint Hurdle on Sunday, the final day of the regular season, pitching coach Ray Searage said he also expects to be fired, per The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel. Searage said, “They told us they would let us know in the next couple of days. Now, bringing in a new manager could mean bringing in different personnel, anyway. I’m preparing myself not to be a Pittsburgh Pirate next year.”
Searage, 64, has been the Pirates’ pitching coach since 2010. He has been credited with helping some pitchers turn around their careers, such as Edinson Vólquez, Francisco Liriano, and J.A. Happ. He hasn’t gotten as much credit in recent years as the Pirates haven’t gotten as much out of their pitchers. They have even watched some of their former pitchers, such as Gerrit Cole and Tyler Glasnow, go on to reach greater heights with new teams.
As Searage notes, incoming managers are usually afforded the privilege of choosing their coaching staff members. It may be possible that the new manager wants to keep Searage around, but he is right to set his expectations for a new team in 2020.
