PITTSBURGH: The Pittsburgh Pirates have hired former Milwaukee assistant Andy Haines as hitting coach.
Haines replaces Rick Eckstein, who was fired in August. Haines spent the last three seasons as the hitting coach in Milwaukee before being let go in October.
Haines joins one of the worst offensive teams in the major leagues. The Pirates finished last in the majors in runs, home runs and slugging percentage in 2021 and in the bottom six in batting average and on-base plus slugging on their way to a third straight last-place finish in the NL Central.
The Pirates also announced Mike Rabelo will add third base coach to his duties in 2022. Rabelo was already serving as the team’s field coordinator. He takes over for Joey Cora, who was dismissed in October.
Radley Haddad, a former assistant with the New York Yankees, is joining the Pirates as game planning and strategy coach. Haddad, 31, spent the last five years as a coaching assistant and bullpen catcher with New York.
The rest of the Pittsburgh coaching and support staff from 2021 will remain in place next season, including Tarrick Brock as first base coach, Donnie Kelly as bench coach and Oscar Marin as pitching coach.
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