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Joel Hanrahan Returns to Pirates as Coach in Morgantown

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The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Wednesday morning that former closer Joel Hanrahan has been hired as an assistant pitching coach for Morgantown. Hanrahan played for the Pirates from 2009 until 2012, when he was dealt away for Mark Melancon. After leaving the Pirates, he pitched just nine more Major League games. He had Tommy John surgery in May of 2013, then during his comeback he wasn’t progressing well and needed a second Tommy John surgery. He didn’t officially retire as a player until this past November, though he never got into a minor league game during those last three seasons.

Hanrahan was a two-time All-Star with the Pirates and saved a total of 76 games during the 2011-12 seasons. He is wearing his old uniform number from his days with the Pirates. He will work alongside pitching coach Tom Filer at Morgantown.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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