Pirates' new coaching hires represent cultural shift under Don Kelly

The Pittsburgh Pirates will add a pair of familiar faces to their coaching staff next week, per a report from Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, as the team is set to hire Kristopher Negron as bench coach and Tony Beasley as third base coach.

Negron, like Pirates manager Don Kelly, was a career utility man. He most recently worked with the Seattle Mariners, spending the last four years on their major league staff. Beasley spent five years managing in the Pirates' farm system from 2001-05 before joining the big league staff as third base coach from 2007-10. He has been on the Texas Rangers' staff since 2015 and is universally respected.

When an MLB team hires a new manager, the first wave of staff additions usually reveals what that manager values. These two hires say a lot about Kelly and the culture he is trying to build in Pittsburgh.

New Pirates hires Kristopher Negron and Tony Beasley create balanced bench for Don Kelly in Pittsburgh

Hiring Negron as bench coach signals that Kelly wants a younger, modern-thinking second-in-command. At just 39 years old, Negron has enough player development experience to bridge the gap between analytics and clubhouse communication. He is someone Kelly trusts to help run games and handle communication with younger players, so this is essentially Kelly choosing a co-pilot who speaks both the “front office language” and the “player language.”

Negron is also a coach with leadership and game-planning experience who spent the past few years in the Mariners and Diamondbacks systems—clubs known for data-driven preparation. The hire suggests the Pirates want a staff that aligns with modern player-development priorities, given Negron’s track record with young talent in Seattle’s system.

As for Beasley, he is the exact kind of hire a young, changeover-heavy team needs. He has managerial experience as an interim with Texas, and he is known across baseball as a strong communicator, steady presence and a respected infield and outfield instructor. He also has postseason experience and has coached under multiple managerial styles.

For the Pirates specifically, Beasley provides a steady, experienced on-field voice to balance a relatively young staff. He has credibility with infielders, and he will likely work closely with the base running group and positioning team. Put simply, Beasley gives Kelly a veteran lieutenant with decades of institutional MLB knowledge.

Ultimately, these hires point to a philosophical shift: more modern, less "folksy;" more leadership, fewer comfort hires; and more development focus, less status quo. Negron and Beasley represent a young, modern strategist and a veteran instructor, respectively, which creates a balanced bench for Kelly.

Beasley's prior time in the Pirates organization adds an extra, under-the-radar layer of importance to these hires — one that makes Kelly’s staff feel more intentional, not random.

Beasley already understands the organizational philosophies, quirks and historical challenges. He knows what it’s like working under the Pirates’ front office constraints. He's seen the player-development pipeline from inside—the good and the bad. Now, he returns with a full picture of how things used to work, how things stalled and what needs to improve. That matters way more than most people think.

Beasley understands the culture gap that’s plagued the Pirates since the Clint Hurdle era. He was there during the Andrew McCutchen/Neil Walker/Russell Martin years and the postseason runs –– the period when the Pirates actually had a defined identity.

Returning now, Beasley immediately knows how far the standards slipped, how communication changed, how young players are being taught differently and what the Pirates used to do right on the field and in the clubhouse. This helps him serve as a bridge between eras. He’s one of the few coaches who can credibly say, “I’ve seen it work here. I know what it looked like.” That’s invaluable for Kelly.

Hiring strangers would’ve meant a total identity reboot. Instead, the Pirates chose a respected former coach in Beasley and a young, up-and-coming bench coach in Negron. This shows that the club wants a fresh start, but not chaos; coaches who understand modern baseball but also understand Pittsburgh baseball. This is the exact middle path successful teams take—continuity with strong, new ideas layered on top.