Pirates Fire GM Neal Huntington After Finishing Last in NL Central

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the firing of general manager Neal Huntington on Monday.

As Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted: "The move comes as somewhat of a surprise. Travis Williams only started in his new role as team president Monday, and owner Bob Nutting—when issuing a statement following the firing of [manager] Clint Hurdle—expressed confidence in Huntington's leadership."

Huntington, 50, has served as the team's general manager since 2007, presiding over three playoff teams (2013-15). However, those teams never advanced past the National League Divisional Series, and the club has posted just one winning season since, going 82-79 in 2018. 

This past season, the Pirates went 69-93, finishing fifth in the NL Central. Only the Miami Marlins (57-105) had a worse record in the National League. It was also the fourth time under Huntington's watch the team has finished last in the division. 

The Pirates have also struggled to develop young players. B/R's Joel Reuter ranked the team's farm system 17th in September. In recent years, they've jettisoned some of their most talented younger players, including Gerrit Cole, Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow. The latter two were traded to acquire starting pitcher Chris Archer, who has struggled in Pittsburgh. 

Meadows and Glasnow, meanwhile, were key figures in Tampa Bay's run to the postseason this year. The 24-year-old Meadows hit .291 with 33 homers and 89 RBI, establishing himself as one of the game's up-and-coming outfielders, while the 26-year-old Glasnow went 6-1 with a 1.78 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP and 76 strikeouts in 60.2 innings (12 starts), flashing a 100 mph heater.

If given a do-over, the Pirates would take back Meadows and Glasnow in a heartbeat. And Pirates fans have surely been watching the 2019 postseason with an air of "what might have been" as Cole has been dominant and Meadows and Glasnow helped fuel a surprising playoff push. 

That makes it unlikely that many Pirates fans will object to Monday's decision to move on from Huntington.