Ben Cherington is the new general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The club announced the move on Monday, three weeks after firing Neal Huntington from the same position following a last-place finish in the NL Central.
Cherington won a World Series ring as general manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2013. He was fired following the 2015 season and spent the last three years as vice president of baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Cherington called joining the Pirates the "ideal opportunity." He is the second high-profile hire by Pittsburgh during the offseason. Travis Williams was brought on as team president last month when Frank Coonelly stepped away after 12 years.
One of Cherington's first jobs will be finding a manager. The Pirates fired Clint Hurdle on the final day of the regular season and put the search of his replacement on pause until a new general manager was brought in.
