When he met with reporters in late September, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington revealed that he planned to hire a full-time scouting director. Two weeks later, Cherington accomplished his goal. The Pirates have promoted Justin Newman to director of amateur scouting, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Newman, a University of Rochester alumnus, has worked in various positions with the Pirates since he joined their front office in 2017. He had been their director of player analysis since 2025. Newman’s main focus has been on the draft in recent years, according to Beazley. In his new position, the 31-year-old will replace Justin Horowitz, who left last October to become the Nationals’ assistant GM.

Horowitz was only with the Pirates for the 2024 and ’25 drafts, but they appear to have struck gold in both years. The Pirates used their first-round picks on shortstop Konnor Griffin (ninth overall) and right-hander Seth Hernandez (sixth) when Horowitz was in the organization. Griffin was so highly regarded as a prospect that he scored a nine-year, $140MM extension last April. He went on to impress as a 20-year-old rookie. Hernandez, also 20, is on the shortlist of the best pitching prospects in baseball.

Between Horowitz’s exit and Newman’s promotion, Pittsburgh relied on assistant GM Kevan Graves to oversee its draft in 2026. With Graves at the helm, the team used the sixth overall selection on former LSU outfielder Derek Curiel. Graves also led the hiring process for the director of amateur scouting job, per Beazley.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images