Pirates’ most recent hirings could be tone-setters for the rest of the offseason

The Pittsburgh Pirates kicked off their offseason with some big additions to their coaching staff. They have added former Pirate corner infielder Matt Hague as their new hitting coach and Brent Strom as their new assistant pitching coach. These two could be invaluable to the Pirates' young roster, and as of now, the moves may have just set the tone for the rest of the offseason, and in a good way.

The first hire they made on Wednesday was Hague, who served as a minor-league hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2020 to 2023. He was then promoted to assistant Major League hitting coach prior to the 2024 season. Hague was reportedly well-liked by the Blue Jays' batters and was praised for helping some of their younger players, like Spencer Horwitz and Ernie Clement, take the step forward from the minor leagues to the majors. He also receives high praise often for his minor-league work.

The second hire was Strom, who was recently let go by the Arizona Diamondbacks. While the D-Backs' pitching struggled this year, it's hard to pin it on Strom when multiple of their top pitchers were injured or did not get a proper spring training, like in Jordan Montgomery's case. Either way, Strom has an excellent track record. He was the Houston Astros' pitching coach from 2014 through 2021. During that time, the Astros' hurlers ranked in the top five in ERA, FIP, WHIP, and K%. Strom is credited with the breakout of many pitchers, like Dallas Keuchel, Ryan Pressley, Lance McCullers, Colin McHugh, former Pirates like Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton, and the career resurgence of Justin Verlander.

What Matt Hague, Brent Strom can bring to Pirates' strengths (and pain points)

Hague and Strom's hirings demonstrate something crucial: the Pirates have a very good understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. If the Pirates are good, it's going to be because of their pitching. They have one of the best farm systems when it comes to pitching, have a strong trio of major league starters with Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, and Mitch Keller, and a deep supporting cast of Luis Ortiz, Bailey Falter, Johan Oviedo, Mike Burrows, and Braxton Ashcraft on the 40-man roster. Strom now gets to work closely with the Pirates' immense wealth of young and talented arms.

Hague has worked closely with young hitters before while with the Jays, especially considering his work throughout the minor leagues. The Pirates have plenty of young hitters, many of whom have struggled with the previous approach Andy Haines taught. The Pirates had the most strikeouts looking and ranked 25th in contact percentage. Meanwhile, the Jays had the fifth-best contact rate and the seventh-fewest strikeouts looking. The approach that Hague brings to his new/former organization could very much help the Pirates' young hitters.

FanGraphs' senior writer, Dan Szymbroski, put it best:

And probably every Pirates fan agrees that Andy Haines committed some heinous crimes against plate discipline.

This may have been the two best hirings the Pirates could have possibly made to improve the coaching staff. Hiring Hague and Strom is a great way to kick off the offseason, and represent the sort of moves teams make when they want to get serious.

Hopefully, it's the start of a fruitful winter for the Pirates. They've already made two aggressive moves to improve the coaching staff. Now, let's hope they use that same aggression to improve the MLB roster and give their new coaches more material to work with. It's totally understandable to be cautiously optimistic, but these are definitely tone-setting moves and ones that should bring some hope to the fanbase.