Pirates’ embarrassing new offensive low shows we may owe Andy Haines an apology

The Pittsburgh Pirates, after finishing near the bottom of the league in every offensive category last season, finally moved on from hitting coach Andy Haines in October.

Now, just over two weeks into a new season, the Pirates – under new hitting coach Matt Hague – have a team batting average of .190 (30th of 30 teams), an on-base percentage of .282 (26th), and a slugging percentage of .297 (30th). These numbers combine for a .578 OPS, which ranks last in Major League Baseball by a considerable margin (.14).

The Pirates have managed just 95 hits through 499 at-bats this season while striking out 142 times, the third-highest total among all 30 MLB teams. Despite stealing 21 bases (fifth), the club has scored just 50 runs (24th) through their first 15 games.

To put the Pirates' abysmal offensive stats into context, they are currently the only MLB team batting below the Mendoza line (.200). If the season ended today, their .190 team average would set a new record low in baseball's modern era. The 2025 Pirates' .578 OPS is also significantly worse than that of the 2021 Pirates (.673), who lost a whopping 101 games.

So, yeah. Maybe Haines wasn't the problem, after all.

Pirates’ embarrassing new offensive low shows we may owe Andy Haines an apology

Yes, the Pirates have dealt with a handful of injuries in their offensive lineup early this season, but even their healthy hitters are underperforming. Power-hitting center fielder Oneil Cruz, for example, is hitting just .195 with a pair of home runs. He does lead the league with eight stolen bases, and he has walked 10 times; but those numbers don't mean much if they don't translate to scoring opportunities.

Bryan Reynolds – who has been in the lineup consistently as a designated hitter despite an injury keeping sidelined from fielding duties – is hitting just .206 with two home runs. But even if Reynolds and Cruz were hitting like their normal selves, it would be unfair to expect them to carry an offense that currently has just three regular hitters with a batting average over .215.

This problem doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, considering the Pirates have no impact bats in the upper levels of their farm system. Unless they can reverse their offensive struggles soon – and, in all likelihood, they won't – it's going to be another long year in Pittsburgh.

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