Much More Needed for Pirates to Improve After Dismissing Pair of Coaches

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates confirmed that hitting coach Andy Haines and bullpen coach Justin Meccage have been relieved of their duties.

General manager Ben Cherington addressed the decisions when meeting with members of the media at PNC Park on Wednesday afternoon. While Cherington noted improvement at the Major League level, he said there needs to be more of it.

“Ultimately, I decided that in order to do it better and faster, some changes were necessary,” Cherington explained. “To some extent, what we need to do, what I believe we need to do, is develop just more cohesion, tighter alignment, tighter connection inside our Major League group so that work that goes towards getting players better faster is happening better and faster all the time.”

The Pirates’ performance offensively was statistically among the worst in the league. Disappointing seasons from a handful of players with high expectations entering the season — notably Jack Suwinski, Henry Davis and Ke’Bryan Hayes — certainly served as another cause for concern.

The bullpen, meanwhile, had a disappointing season after entering the start of the year with lofty expectations. David Bednar’s struggles were probably the most surprising of all.

The word ‘better,’ was often used by Cherington when answering questions. The Pirates, as they should, want to get better, and they want to do it faster than it’s taken so far.

It’s going to take a lot more than firing a pair of coaches on the Major League staff in order to do so. Make no mistake about it, hiring the right people to fill those spots — the hitting coach vacancy, specifically — is going to be important.

But this offseason is going to be paramount for both Cherington as he heads into his sixth season as Pirates’ general manager. His seat is getting hotter, as is Derek Shelton’s. Cherington erased any doubt that the Pirates’ manager would return in 2025.

“I believe he can help lead us toward winning in 2025,” said the Pirates’ GM. “I believe he already does a lot of the aspects of the job very well and at a high level. I believe he works as hard as any manager in the game and I certainly believe he cares as much as any manager in the game. Like all of us, certainly including me, he has targets that he needs to improve on and I believe he is fully aware of those.”

Above all else, the Pirates will need improved performance on the field in order to take a drastic step towards postseason contention in 2025.

The struggling players cited earlier will need to rebound. Younger players will need to grow after receiving their first extended opportunities in the big leagues. The veterans who performed well will need to continue to pace the Pirates, with more consistency in some cases, such as Mitch Keller.

And of course, the Pirates will need to bring in external additions to help support the components already in place. Cherington figures to be active this winter, but once again working with limited resources provided from ownership. At the very least, Cherington said he expected payroll to be higher in 2025.

“I believe our payroll will increase,” he said. “It has every year I’ve been here. I believe we have the resources to win. We have to do our jobs really well to do that. I have to do my job really well.”

Fans have understandably become more and more discouraged after another losing season in Pittsburgh — their sixth in a row and 28th over the last 32 seasons.

There is mounting pressure on Cherington and the rest of the front office, as well as Shelton and the returning coaches to break the seemingly-continued curse that has followed the Pirates since narrowly missing out on a World Series in 1992.

Cherington is focused on the daunting task at hand.

“When the outcomes aren’t yet what I want them to be, what we want them to be, there is going to be frustration that comes from that,” he explained. “I’m fully aware of that and I accept that. I’m just going to keep focused on what I can do to make it better every day, and I know I need to. That will be our sole focus this offseason.”

Shaking up the coaching staff is a very small step in the right direction, but there is a lot more work to be done between now and when the Pirates take the field in Miami in late March for Opening Day. A lot.