PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have hired former big league shortstop David Eckstein and Texas Ranger manager Jeff Banister as Special Assistants to Baseball Operations.

Eckstein is the younger brother of Pirates hitting coach Rick Eckstein. He plyed 10 years in the major leagues and won World Series titles with Anaheim in 2002 and St. Louis in 2006. He was named MVP of the 2006 World Series.

Banister spent the past four years as manager of the Rangers. Before leaving for Texas, he had spent 29 years in the Pirate organization.