Pirates Confirm Hitting, Bullpen Coaches Dismissals
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates officially announced the dismissals of both hitting coach Andy Haines and bullpen coach Justin Meccage.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke on the dismissals at his most recent press conference and the direction the franchise wants to move in going forward.
“Today we announced changes that will be made to our coaching staff," Cherington said. "We appreciate the hard work that both Andy and Justin did on behalf of the Pirates and wish them nothing but success. After a thorough assessment, we believe these changes are necessary. More broadly, over the past few months we have assessed every area of baseball operations with a focus on making the needed improvements to build a winning team in Pittsburgh. This work has touched every area of our operations: amateur, international and pro scouting; player development; player performance; R&D and our coaching staff. We are focused on only one thing...to build a winning team.”
The Pirates have confirmed that hitting coach Andy Haines and bullpen coach Justin Meccage have been relieved of their duties.
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) October 2, 2024
Below is a statement from general manager Ben Cherington on the decision: pic.twitter.com/NJZUsIFnuN
Haines joined the Pirates starting with the 2022 season, but they never hit better than .240 in the three seasons he served as hitting coach. The Milwaukee Brewers fired him after they hit .233 as a team, fourth worst in the MLB in 2021.
The Pirates struggled again with their hitting this season, hitting .234 as a team, tied for the seventh worst team batting average in the MLB.
They also set a franchise record with 1,506 strikeouts, the fourth most in the MLB. They tied for the fourth worst on-base percentage at .301, the fourth worst slugging percentage at .371, leading to the fourth worst OPS (on-base plus slugging) at .672.
The Pirates also ranked in the bottom third of the MLB with 643 RBIs, No. 21, 1,283 hits and 17 triples, No. 22, 665 runs, No. 24, 160 home runs and 2,033 total bases, No. 25 and 236 doubles, No. 26.
Walks was the only category that Pittsburgh didn't feature in the lower end of the MLB, tied with the Atlanta Braves at No. 17 with 485 walks.
Only two starters who played more than 100 games had a batting average of .250 of more, in Oneil Cruz at .259 and All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds at .275.
Lots of batters had a negative WAR (wins above replacement) with their batting, including outfielders in Jack Suwinski, -1.7, who the Pirates sent him back down to Triple-A on July 29, and Bryan De La Cruz at -1.2, who the Pirates acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins.
Meccage spent five seasons as the bullpen coach for the Pirates, 2020-24 and spent 14 seasons with the franchise since joining on in 2011. He served as a pitching coach at different levels through 2016 before the Pirates elevated him to minor league pitching coordinator in 2017 and assistant pitching coach in 2018.
The Pirates bullpen struggled at times throughout this season, with previously strong, reliable arms mirred in struggles and blown games.
Two time All-Star closer David Bednar had a poor season in 2023, with 23 saves and seven blown save opportunites, along with a 5.77 ERA in 57.2 innings pitched, nine home runs allowed and 28 walks, with his ERA, home runs and walks all career-highs for him.
Pittsburgh chose Aroldis Chapman as their starting closer at the end of August, which showed how far his production fell after leading the National League with 39 saves.
The Pirates will spend this offseason looking for two new coaches, as the franchise has not made a playoff appearance since 2015.
