Pirates reportedly make extremely necessary changes to coaching staff

The Pittsburgh Pirate front office has wasted no time in starting an important offseason by reportedlyletting go of two coaches. Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported late Monday that the Pirates had chosed to move on from hitting coach Andy Haines and bullpen coach Justin Meccage.

Haines, in particular, received criticism from fans all season, as the Pirates offense ranked near last in the majority of every major offensive category. In fact, players such as Rowdy Tellez and Ke'Bryan Hayes were reportedly getting outside help from other coaches during the season to supplement (or supplant) Haines' teachings. His firing was highly anticipated by Pittsburgh's supporters, and the move has finally manifested after three long seasons of poor offense.

The Haines tenure began in the 2022 season. Although he did not have a great group to work with, the offense under his watch produced a team OPS of .655 and a batting average of .222, which ranked 28th and 29th, respectively.

In 2023, the Pirates' offense improved, but still ranked inside the bottom 10 of Major League Baseball in the same statistics above. Thanks to the improvement the team was making, Haines came into 2024 with expectations that the offense would continue to develop and become a league-average group.

The Pirates will begin to look for a new hitting and bullpen coach after moving on from Andy Haines and Justin Meccage.

Haines failed to improve the offense and, once again, the Pirates' offense ranked even lower in OPS and batting average in 2024 than 2023. On top of that, Pittsburgh was ranked fourth in baseball in strikeouts. The offense declined in 2024, which resulted in the team missing the playoffs and Haines being let go.

The Pirates are not just moving on from Haine,s as their bullpen coach Justin Meccage was also let go. This decision comes from Pittsburgh going into 2024 with their biggest strength being their bullpen. After the conclusion of the season, the group ranked in the bottom five of the league.

Before the season, the Pirate bullpen was ranked the third-best in the league. After the season ended, Pittsburgh's bullpen finished with an earned run average of 4.49 and a WHIP of 1.38, both ranking inside the bottom four of the league.

Both of these coaches' performances were just unacceptable, especially right as the Pirates were looking to push for a playoff spot. This resulted in them both getting let go, which was very much needed for this team to move forward. It is unknown who Pittsburgh is looking at to replace these coaches, but it couldn't hurt to begin their search with an internal option. This was a very signifcant decision by Pittsburgh's front office, and could indicate how serious they are about contending in 2025.