Pirates tab Matt Hague as their next hitting coach hoping to unlock anemic offense

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have hired Matt Hague as their hitting coach, bringing him back to the team that drafted him in 2008.

Hague replaces Andy Haines, who was fired after Pittsburgh finished in the bottom 10 in the majors in every significant statistical category last season, including runs (24th) and home runs (25th), while also striking out a club-record 1,504 times, second-most in the National League behind Colorado.

The 39-year-old Hague spent last season as an assistant hitting coach with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Pirates selected Hague in the ninth round of the 2008 draft. The first baseman reached the majors in 2012 with Pittsburgh but played sparingly with the Pirates and Toronto. Hague hit .226 with no home runs and 7 RBIs in 84 career major-league at-bats. He played briefly in Japan in 2016 and served as a minor leaguer in three different organizations in 2017 and 2018 before going into coaching.

Pittsburgh finished 76-86 for a second straight season due mostly to an offense that struggled to support a pitching staff that included National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes and fellow rookie Jared Jones. The Pirates figure to spend much of their offseason trying to upgrade a lineup anchored by veteran left fielder Bryan Reynolds.

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