The Pirates are parting methods with hitting coach Andy Haines and bullpen coach Justin Meccage, Andrew Destin and Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Monday. It’s not clear whether or not there’ll be different modifications to Derek Shelton’s employees.
Pittsburgh employed Haines to interchange Rick Eckstein over the 2021-22 offseason. The 47-year-old had spent the earlier three seasons because the hitting coach in Milwaukee and logged one yr as an assistant with the Cubs. The Bucs ranked twenty sixth in scoring over the previous three seasons. They have been twenty fourth with 665 runs this yr whereas their .234/.301/.371 batting line positioned them within the backside third of MLB in all three slash stats.
As is the case with any coach, it’s tough to evaluate Haines’ work primarily based on the outcomes alone. PNC Park isn’t a simple venue for hitters and the Bucs are gentle on confirmed offensive contributors past Bryan Reynolds and an getting older Andrew McCutchen. Pittsburgh merely hasn’t gotten sufficient growth from its younger hitters in latest seasons. By measure of wRC+, solely 4 of the 13 Pirates hitters with no less than 200 plate appearances had above-average offensive performances. Reynolds and McCutchen have been joined in that regard by Joey Bart and Oneil Cruz.
Bart, a reclamation flier from the Giants, dramatically reduce his strikeouts and hit .265/.337/.462 in 80 video games. The toolsy Cruz had his first 20-20 season, although he nonetheless struck out in additional than 30 p.c of his plate appearances. Whereas this was a profitable yr for Bart and Cruz, the Pirates had a handful of disappointments.
Ke’Bryan Hayes and Jack Suwinski have been anticipated to be key contributors, however had horrible seasons. Nick Gonzales and Jared Triolo didn’t make a lot of an impression. Former first general choose Henry Davis has hit .191/.283/.307 in 99 video games over the previous two seasons. Purchase-low free-agent pickups Rowdy Tellez and Michael A. Taylor didn’t pan out, nor did bringing in Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan De La Cruz present a jolt on the deadline. That’s actually not all on the hitting coach, but there’s no query the offense has held the Pirates again from breaking out of a rebuild that’ll be coming into 12 months 6 below Shelton and GM Ben Cherington.
Pittsburgh added Meccage to the employees in 2018 as an assistant pitching coach. He moved to bullpen coach going into 2020 and has held the place for 5 seasons. Pittsburgh’s bullpen had the fourth highest ERA within the majors this season, permitting 4.49 earned runs per 9. It ranked twentieth in strikeout share (22.9) whereas posting the seventh-worst stroll price (10 p.c).
Pittsburgh coaxed a breakout yr from waiver declare Dennis Santana and acquired first rate manufacturing out of Carmen Mlodzinski, Colin Holderman, Luis Ortiz and $10.5M free-agent pickup Aroldis Chapman. None of these gamers are lockdown late-game weapons, although. David Bednar was anticipated to anchor the group out of the ninth inning. He had a really poor season, struggling to a 5.77 ERA with a dip in strikeouts and a spike in residence runs to lose the closing job. Bednar had damaged out as one of many recreation’s finest relievers below Meccage’s tutelage between 2021-23.
