Mark Melancon has thrown five scoreless inning for the Pirates so far and told MLB.com on Wednesday that he benefited from working with pitching coach Ray Searage and Jim Benedict, a special assistant to general manager Neal Huntington, during the spring.
"I learned more about my delivery and about pitching in general in a month of spring training than I have my whole pro career," Melancon said.
The right-hander is coming off a campaign in which he posted a 6.20 ERA in 41 appearances for the Red Sox.
"He brought awareness to some of the things in my delivery which, honestly, I haven't really yet changed," Melancon said of Benedict. "It's a work in progress, and I'm just glad I'm aware of it, so in the long run I can deal with it and be that much better."