Pirates reportedly fire renowned pitching coach ahead of pivotal 2026 season

The postseason is only just getting started, but the Pittsburgh Pirates are wasting no time in getting their ducks in a row heading into the offseason. While their own players resent the front office at the moment, general manager Ben Cherington received a vote of confidence from ownership and the team went ahead and extended manager Don Kelly, despite a rough overall season. However, there does seem to be at least some change on the horizon.

For about 20 years, Oscar Marin made a name for himself as one of the better pitching coaches out there, especially when it comes to handling young arms. After toiling in the minor leagues as a coach, as well as with the Rangers as their bullpen coach, the Pirates hired Marin in 2019 to be their pitching coach. While the teams have been terrible, the one bright spot lately in Pittsburgh has been the pitching staff.

Unfortunately, that was apparently not enough, as Marin was reportedly let go by the Pirates in a pretty surprising move on Tuesday. With every Paul Skenes season precious, and with so many rookies (like Bubba Chandler) entering crucial campaigns, it's strange, to say the least, to see Pittsburgh make a shuffle here.

Pirates reportedly let long-time pitching coach Oscar Marin go ahead of Year 3 of Paul Skenes

While a weird move to make, given what has driven the Pirates' success of late, it isn't all that odd that the organization is shaking things up. There is a chance that the Pirates think they can get more out of that coaching spot than they were getting from Marin, and Kelly could prefer to install his own coaching staff now that he has official control of the team headed into 2026.

That said, the Pirates are taking a bit of a risk here. Top coaching talent is not exactly lining up outside the stadium to deal with Bob Nutting as an owner, while having little hope of top-end talent signing with the Pirates. Perhaps Kelly has someone in mind who would be willing, but Pittsburgh may have a tough time finding a decent replacement for Marin, even this early in the offseason.

Ethan Katz, renowned pitching coach of the White Sox, has recently been dismissed as well. Brent Strom, who brought Houston back to relevance, had a role in Pittsburgh until Tuesday, but lost it in the latest shuffle as well.

Pirates fans just have to hope that swapping pitching coaches doesn't cause any regression in what is the most redeeming aspect of Pittsburgh's roster. A guy like Paul Skenes will be able to get by with almost anyone at pitching coach, but all of the other young arms coming up are going to need a steady hand to guide them.

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