Pirates News: Front office shuffle, former draft pick retires, Cubs hire former hated coach

While the Pittsburgh Pirates have been conspicuously quiet in free agency this offseason, they've been busy behind the scenes making some internal changes to their front office. The club has yet to confirm, but Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reported last week that Pirates' director of coaching and player development John Baker has been moved to a new role overseeing the club's performance team.

In his new role, Baker will oversee the team's strength and conditioning, mental skills, nutrition, sports science and more at both the Major League and Minor League levels. Stumpf also reported that Baker's new role would be "part of a bigger combination of changes" that will be coming to the Pirates' front office and that the search for a new farm director is already underway.

Baker's new role is the latest in a series of personnel changes in Pittsburgh, including Max Kwan replacing Junior Vizcaino as the team's director of international scouting and Kevin Tenenbaum being hired as vice president of research and development. Director of pro scouting Will Lawton will also be moving to a new role within the organization.

Cubs poach Andy Haines as Pirates fans rejoice

Speaking of personnel changes, the much-maligned Andy Haines – who was fired by the Pirates after three seasons as their Major League hitting coach – has reportedly been hired by the Chicago Cubs as a Minor League hitting coordinator.

It's a homecoming (and, frankly, a demotion) of sorts for Haines, who served in that same minor-league role in the Cubs organization for two years before eventually becoming an assistant hitting coach at the big-league level in 2018. He then spent three seasons as the Brewers’ hitting coach from 2019 to 2021 before joining the Pirates.

Former Pirates draft pick Casey Sadler announces retirement

Right-hander Casey Sadler, a 25th-round pick by the Pirates in the 2010 MLB Draft, announced his retirement from baseball last week at the age of 34. Sadler worked his way up through Pittsburgh's farm system and appeared in a total of nine Major League games with the Pirates over three seasons before becoming a free agent in 2018.

Sadler's most recent MLB appearance came in 2021 with the Seattle Mariners. He finished his career on a Minor League contract with the Mariners before electing free agency after the 2023 season. Injuries ultimately prevented Stadler from being in the big leagues for long, but he retires with a 2.86 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 101 MLB games.

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