PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates announced four promotions within their baseball operations department on Monday, including two moves to fill holes created over the last two months.
Pittsburgh named Ron Hopkins and Matt Ruebel special assistants to the general manager. Hopkins had been a pro scout for the Bucs, while Ruebel was working as a national supervisor in the club's scouting department.
Hopkins and Ruebel will essentially replace Marc DelPiano and Jim Benedict, former special assistants to the GM who left earlier this year to take front office jobs with the Marlins.
When DelPiano left in September, and again when Benedict departed in October, Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington stressed the importance of opportunity -- for DelPiano and Benedict in their careers, and for the men who would assume bigger roles for the Pirates in their place.