There’s an opening. Are any of these guys a fit?
It’s hard to say how much the hitting coach hire will help a flawed organization like the Pittsburgh Pirates, which stinks at developing players. But if Ben Cherington wants to have a productive offseason in year six (yikes) of this rebuild, they need to start thinking outside the box— and that would start with adding a hitting coach who has been in the big leagues and performed at a high level.
Picking up the scraps from another decent organization isn’t going to make a substantial impact–we don’t need another Andy Haines type of pairing with Derek Shelton. Nor should we want an internal hire because, as I mentioned, it’s hard to trust this organization with development.
The Pirates’ young hitters need to learn fundamental approaches that help the team and work for each individual, along with someone who can teach high-level mechanics. Many of these Pirates hitters are great athletes but do not have high-level swings. This is an issue across the league because too many hitting coaches are out of touch. It could be a difference-maker if the Pirates hire a coach with a fun personality who has lived in their shoes and knows how to handle ups and downs at the plate across an entire season.
Here are three former players who could change the Pirates’ offensive woes.
Sean Casey
Casey was the first player to get a hit at PNC Park – a two-run home run in the top of the first inning on Opening Day 2001 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, where he played a majority of his career and was nicknamed “The Mayor.” The Pittsburgh native and Upper St. Clair graduate spent part of the 2006 season with the Pirates before being traded to the Detroit Tigers. Casey flew under the radar with a .302 lifetime average across 12 big league seasons.
He has coached and mentored local ballplayers in the area and is a mental performance and breakthrough coach. In the middle of the 2023 season, the Yankees hired Casey as their hitting coach and was wanted back, but he decided to decline the role to spend more time with his family and returned to his job at MLB Network. What better way to stay close to family and be back in the big leagues than as the next Pirates hitting coach?
Eric Chavez
Chavez had a very successful 17 years in the big leagues, playing 13 seasons with the Oakland A’s. Chavez hit 260 home runs, won six gold gloves at third base, and may have done much more if not for a stretch of injury-riddled seasons.
He looks to be a quality coach at the big league level, as he was hired away from the New York Yankees coaching staff in 2021 to be the hitting coach of the New York Mets in 2022. The Mets won 101 games in ‘22, had the second-highest team batting average, and scored fifth-most runs in the league. Chavez was promoted to bench coach in 2023, and the Mets had one of the most disappointing campaigns that year, as their offense fell to the bottom half of the league in most categories without him as the hitting coach.
Despite the Mets’ coaching staff and front office turnover last offseason, the Mets wisely kept Chavez and made him the co-hitting coach with Jeremy Barnes. Sports Illustrated reported that players were happy to have Chavez back in his original role, and one can infer that he may have had something to do with getting the Mets offense back on track last season. The Mets are a much different organization and team, but the Pirates would be wise to at least make a call. They would have to lure him away from New York, which could be difficult, but it is certainly possible with a lack of stability for Chavez on the Mets coaching staff over the last few years.
Mike Napoli
Napoli is more of a question mark than the other two options on this list, but he would be worth taking a chance on more than many candidates the Pirates are considering. The former first baseman and catcher was known for his power during his 12-year big league career that ended in 2017, hitting 267 home runs.
Napoli has been with the Cubs organization since 2019 and has been the first base coach since 2022. With the Cubs having a down year with highly acclaimed manager Craig Counsell, the Cubs let go of Napoli and a lot of their coaching staff this offseason. This is certainly not a great look for him, but one can argue that this is a scapegoat firing as the Cubs try to help Counsell be the success he was in Milwaukee after luring him away with a big contract.
Napoli is different from the other candidates on this list because he has played more recently than Chavez and Casey, which could make him more relatable for players but possibly less experienced as a mentor and coach for young hitters. But if Chavez and Casey are not available for hire, Napoli is worth the risk as a younger coach with valuable big league experience who could bring a different perspective and ignite the chemistry of the clubhouse.