PITTSBURGH — When the Pirates fired Rick Eckstein from his position as hitting coach at the end of August, the immediate response from the organization was that they were simply recalibrating.
It wasn’t that Eckstein was doing a bad job, they insisted, it was just that the visions didn’t align. General manager Ben Cherington said in his end-of-year Zoom call that the Pirates learned a lot about their process over the last month of the season. They talked to players about what they wanted, adjusted pregame routines and moved forward. Now, they’re looking for the next hitting coach.
“So much is just about fit. It's about finding someone who has a particular skillset, experience, strengths, that complements and adds to what's already here, and someone who is really a good cultural fit with our players and our staff, someone who is interested in coming in and being a part of a team just to help players get better,” Cherington said earlier this month.
While that isn’t the most enlightening description of the qualifications the Pirates will be looking for, we can still take a hack at guessing. Here are a few candidates who might make sense:
Christian Marrero, Pirates assistant hitting coach
Marrero’s credentials aren’t too robust. The 35-year-old was brought into the Pirates’ organization last offseason after just three years of coaching experience in the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor-leagues.
But Marrero does seem to fit Cherington’s desired “culture.” Marrero is young. He said at the time of his hiring that he believes he’s able to communicate well with players because of his age. He also understands as well as anyone how difficult this game can be, playing 12 minor-league seasons, never actually cracking the major leagues.
Those in attendance for Pirates batting practice can at least see proof of Marrero’s amiable personality, as he’s often joking around and laughing with players. From the jump with manager Derek Shelton, that sort of relationship-building has been key to the kind of rebuilding effort he wants to pursue.
Plus, after Eckstein was removed from his post, some Pirates excelled in September. Outfielder Anthony Alford and utility man Cole Tucker are good examples of guys who toiled for much of the season, found their swings at the right time and went into the offseason with cause for some optimism. It’s unclear exactly how the Pirates divided the work of hitting coach between those who remained on the staff once Eckstein was gone, but Marrero surely deserves some credit for helping hold the pieces together in September.
Jon Nunnally, Class AAA Indianapolis hitting coach
Here’s the other in-organization hire that would make sense, and for similar reasons.
Pittsburgh Pirates short stop Kevin Newman (27) throws to first for an out in the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs during a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Nunnally joined the Pirates’ organization for the 2019 season, as the hitting coach at Class AA Altoona. He was promoted to Indianapolis prior to the 2020 season, and instead headed out to Altoona again to help at the alternate training site while the minor league season was cancelled. So this year was really his first full season with Indianapolis.
That’s not to say Nunnally has little experience at that level. The 49-year-old was hitting coach for the Cleveland Indians for a season and a half in 2010 and the beginning of 2011, actually taking over the role from now-Pirates manager Derek Shelton. Nunnally was the Class AAA hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013 and the Class AA hitting coach there in 2014. He then filled the same role in the Boston Red Sox’s minor leagues for the next two seasons, initially working under Cherington, who was Boston’s general manager at the time.
So, then, if Shelton and Cherington have solid familiarity with Nunnally, it would make sense for him to stick around. Alford and Tucker, funnily enough, actually credited Nunnally with helping them turn their 2021 seasons around when they were sent to Indianapolis, so he has that going for him too.
Marcus Thames, former New York Yankees hitting coach
The Yankees fired Thames on Thursday after the Bronx Bombers failed to live up to their offensive hype for much of the season. That, obviously, is not a glowing endorsement.
At the same time, he is a young, 44-year-old who worked his way up the Yankees’ organization throughout the last several years, beginning with their High-A team in 2013. He joined their MLB staff in 2015 as assistant hitting coach, then got promoted to the head job in 2017 and held it up until Thursday. So all the offensive success the Yankees have had prior to 2021 came under his watchful eye too.
Plus, there’s a Shelton tie. Shelton was a coach in the Yankees’ minor league system as Thames worked his way up as a player. In an article written by Lindsey Adler in The Athletic earlier this year, Shelton was very complimentary of Thames.
“It’s hard for guys who were pretty good hitters to become really good hitting coaches. Sometimes, they don’t understand what other people don’t get,” Shelton said. “The fact that Marcus did hit at the major-league level and his ability to communicate and talk to different types of guys is something that separates him.”
Jamie Nelson, Tampa Bay Rays Class AA hitting coach
Here’s another with Shelton ties. Nelson served as Shelton’s assistant hitting coach from 2013-2016 in Tampa Bay. After Shelton left, Nelson hung on for another season before sliding down to the Class AA Montgomery Biscuits, where he has served as the hitting coach since 2018.
Obviously, that familiarity will help the 62-year-old Nelson. What also helps is his pedigree working with young stars including Wander Franco, Vidal Brujan and many others in Tampa’s organization.
The Pirates will also soon be home to a bevy of young players, with guys like Oneil Cruz, Mason Martin, Canaan Smith-Njigba and the rest of the prospects on the cusp of reaching the majors. Nelson, in theory, could thrive in that sort of environment.
