Michael Ryan, a native of Western Pennsylvania, returns for his third season as the manager of the Altoona Curve in 2019. He was announced to the position on December 23, 2016. The Pirates announced Ryan's return to Altoona on January 18, 2019.

Ryan's .547 winning percenatage over his first two seasons with the Curve stands second-best in team history (Tony Beasley, 2004-05; .569). In 2018 under Ryan, the Curve finished with the Eastern League's best winning percentage and won their second straight division title. It was the first time in team history that the club had won back-to-back division crowns.

In his first season with the Curve in 2017, Ryan led the club to its second Eastern League championship in franchise history with a three-game sweep over the Trenton Thunder in the ELCS. The Curve went 74-66 in the regular season, winning their second Western Division title in team history by two games over the second-place Bowie Baysox.

The title was the second for Ryan in as many seasons. In 2016, he managed the Class-A Adv. Bradenton Marauders to a Florida State League championship. It was the first A-Adv. championship for a Pirates-affiliate team since the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League title in 2009.

Ryan began his managerial career in 2013 with the West Virginia Power, the Pirates' Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League, leading the club to an 82-58 overall record and second-half Northern Division championship while setting the franchise record in wins. The Power were eliminated in the division series by the Hagerstown Suns, two games to one. He returned to Charleston with the Power in 2014 before earning a promotion to manage Bradenton in 2015. Overall, Ryan has compiled a 354-335 record over ive seasons as a minor league manager. Ryan was also a coach with the Curve in 2012 under former manager P.J. Forbes.

Ryan was drafted in the fifth round by the Minnesota Twins out of Indiana Area Senior High School in 1996, where he played baseball, basketball and football and was an all-state selection in football and baseball in 1996. Ryan played 15 professional seasons, including five in the majors. The former outfielder spent four seasons in the big leagues with the Twins from 2002-05 and played for the Los Angeles Angels in 2010. He played in the 2003 ALDS with the Twins in 2003, going 0-for-1.

Ryan was a non-roster invitee with the Pirates in 2007 after 10 seasons with the Minnesota organization (1996-05) and one with Atlanta (2006). He played 149 major league games, compiling a .258 batting average, seven home runs and 35 RBIs. He was a Pacific Coast League All-Star in 2002 with Edmonton after clubbing 31 homers and 101 RBIs.

Ryan currently resides in Pittsburgh with his wife, Alicia, and their two sons, Brennan (9) and Blake (7).

Joel Hanrahan, 37, joins the Curve coaching staff for his first season in Altoona and third year as a coach in the Pirates minor league system. He spent the 2018 season as the pitching coach for the West Virginia Power and served in the same role with the Bristol Pirates in 2017.

A right-handed reliever for the majority of his playing career, Hanrahan played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for four seasons (2009-12) and was a two-time National League All-Star (2011-12). He became the Bucs' closer during the 2010 campaign and tallied 82 total saves while wearing a Pirates uniform. His 40 saves in 2011 were a new club record, which was surpassed by Mark Melancon's 51 saves in 2015.

Hanrahan came to the Pirates in a trade from the Washington Nationals on June 30, 2009 with Lastings Milledge in exchange for a pair of Curve alumni: Sean Burnett and Nyjer Morgan. He was traded by Pittsburgh to the Boston Red Sox on December 26, 2012 with Brock Holt for Ivan De Jesus, Mark Melancon, Stolmy Pimentel and Jerry Sands.

Overall, Hanrahan played seven seasons in the big leagues. His playing career spanned 14 seasons that began as a second-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2000. Hanrahan spent seven years in the Dodgers system without a call to the majors. He signed with the Nationals after the 2006 campaign and made his MLB debut on July 27, 2007 against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.

During his first year in Boston, Hanrahan underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in May 2013 and never returned to a major league mound. He suffered a second UCL injury during spring training in 2015 that required another Tommy John operation while he was attempting a comeback with the Detroit Tigers. Hanrahan formally retired on November 15, 2016.

Hanrahan, an Iowa native, resides in Lewisville, Texas with his wife, Kim, and two children; Ryan (6) and Cora (3).

Jon Nunnally, 47, joins the Pirates organization ahead of the 2019 season for his 12th year as a coach in professional baseball. He spent the previous two seasons as the Minor League Outfield and Baserunning Coordinator for the Los Angeles Angels.

Nunnally brings major league experience both as a player and a coach to the Curve. During the 2010-11 seasons, Nunnally served as the hitting coach for the Cleveland Indians under then-manager Manny Acta. As a player, he was an outfielder that enjoyed parts of six seasons in the big leagues from 1995-2000.

He held additional hitting coach roles in the Indians minor league system from 2007-09 before reaching the major league staff. Nunnally also coached hitters in the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox organizations with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (2012, 14; Double-A, Blue Jays), Buffalo Bisons (2013; Triple-A, Blue Jays), Salem Red Sox (2015; A-Adv, Red Sox) and Portland Sea Dogs (2016; Double-A, Red Sox).

Nunnally was drafted in the third round by the Indians in 1992 out of Miami-Dade College and played the first three seasons of his 15-year playing career in Cleveland's developmental system. The Kansas City Royals chose Nunnally in the Rule 5 Draft after the 1994 season and he made his MLB debut with the Royals on April 26, 1995. He spent the entire season with the big club, per Rule 5 regulations, and hit .244 with 14 homers. Nunnally was traded to the Cincinnati Reds on July 15, 1997 with Chris Stynes for Hector Carrasco and Scott Service. He played for the Reds immediately after the trade and hit .318 with 13 homers in 65 games. 

He played one more season in Cincinnati before he spent single seasons with the Boston Red Sox (1999) and New York Mets (2000) to conclude his big league service time. Overall, Nunnally played in 364 major league games and hit .246 with 42 homers and 125 RBIs.

He played in Japan during the second half of the 2000 season and returned to the U.S. to play five more affiliated seasons at the Triple-A level. Nunnally played his final season of affiliated baseball for the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis in 2005 and concluded his playing career a year later after a stint in the Mexican League.

Salvador Paniagua, 35, joins the Curve for his third year as a coach in the Pirates organization. His coaching career began when he joined the organization prior to the 2017 season and spent the year with the Rookie-level Bristol Pirates of the Appalachian League. In 2018, he served as the hitting coach for the Pirates' Dominican Summer League affiliate.

A native of San Juan, Dominican Republic, Paniagua played 13 professional seasons in the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets organizations in addition to various independent leagues. In his affiliated career, he played parts of three seasons in the Eastern League with the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox) in 2007 and with the Binghamton Mets (Mets) in 2008-09. Paniagua spent six seasons (2011-16) with the York Revolution of the indpendent Atlantic League and is the longest-tenured position player in the franchise's history.

Justin Ahrens returns to the Curve for his third season in Altoona and his eighth with the Pittsburgh organization. He spent the previous two years with the Bradenton Marauders and was named the Florida State League's Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2016. From 2013-2014, he was the trainer with the Single-A West Virginia Power after working with the short-season State College Spikes in 2012. He has spent each of the last six seasons on the same staff as new Curve manager Michael Ryan. Prior to joining the Pirates organization, Ahrens worked with the Oakland Athletics in the Dominican Republic in 2011 as an assistant athletic trainer and as an intern with the Minnesota Twins in 2010. Ahrens, 29, received a bachelor's degree in athletic training from Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisc. in 2011 and a master's degree in kinesiology from Fresno Pacific University in 2016. He is a native of Beloit, Wisc., and he makes his offseason home in Milwaukee.

Schlesinger returns to the Curve for his third season as the team's strength and conditioning coach and his sixth with the Pittsburgh organization. In 2016, he held the same position with the Single-A West Virginia Power after spending the previous year with the short-season West Virginia Black Bears. He began his tenure with the Pirates in 2014 with the short-season Jamestown Jammers. Prior to joining the Pirates, Schlesinger served as a strength and conditioning graduate assistant at Duquesne University, and preceded that with time working at the University of Southern California and University of Toledo. Born in Cleveland, Schlesinger graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in exercise science in 2011 and completed his master's of science in sports leadership at Duquesne in 2014. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.