The Pittsburgh Pirates confirmed this afternoon that the team has interviewed former Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge for their managerial position.
Wedge is believed to be at the top of GM Neal Huntington’s wishlist.
Wedge is in high demand, interviewing for the Chicago Cubs managerial job twice and is also on the radar of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Wedge and Huntington worked together in the Indians organization. Wedge managed in the Indians’ minor league system from 1998 through 2002, and was named manager of the Cleveland Indians in October 2002 at age 35.
In seven seasons as the manager of the Indians, Wedge posted a 561-573 record, leading the Indians to three winning seasons, including two 90+ win seasons.
In 2007, Wedge led the Indians to a 96–66 record, winning the Central Division Title for the first time since 2001. In the 2007 playoffs, Cleveland came just within one game of reaching the World Series.
Cleveland beat the Yankees in four games to win the ALDS, and moved on to play the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, where they lost in 7 games after leading 3 games to 1.
Wedge was named MLB Manager of the Year for the American League in 2007. He was fired in September 2009.