Pirates to Hire Matt Hague as Hitting Coach

The Pittsburgh Pirates have finally decided on a hitting coach, landing on former Toronto Blue Jays assistant hitting coach Matt Hague, as first reported by TSN’s Scott Mitchell.

Hague replaces Andy Haines, who was let go at the end of the season after three years in the position.

Hague, 39, was selected by the Pirates in the ninth round of the 2008 draft and made his big-league debut with Pittsburgh in 2012. He played in 43 games in parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues between the Pirates and Blue Jays and had a career batting average of .226.

Upon the completion of his professional playing career, Hague joined the Blue Jays’ High-A affiliate in 2020, was named the hitting coach in Double-A New Hampshire the following season and was once again promoted, this time to Triple-A Buffalo in 2023.

Prior to the start of the 2024 season, Hague joined Toronto’s big-league bench as the assistant hitting coach under Guillermo Martinez, who was dismissed after the regular season.

As a team, Toronto finished around the middle of the pack in most major offensive categories but hit only 156 home runs on the season. Hague helped coach the likes of Silver Slugger recipient Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who played great offensively with Toronto before he was traded to the Pirates.

Hague will be tasked with revamping a lackluster Pirates’ offense. In 2024, the Pirates finished 23rd in batting average (.234), 26th in on-base percentage (.301), 27th in slugging (.371) and 27th with a .672 OPS. Only five teams (Blue Jays included) finished with fewer home runs than the Pirates’ 160.

Offense has been a weak spot for the Pirates during their current streak of six-straight losing seasons. Hague will try and turn things around and helped guide Pittsburgh to its first postseason appearance since 2015.