The Pittsburgh Pirates will lean on one of their former players to help turn around one of the league’s worst offenses last season.

The Pirates officially announced the hiring of former first baseman Matt Hague as their new hitting coach. Pittsburgh drafted Haag in the ninth round of the 2008 MLB Draft and he spent parts of two seasons (2012 and 2014) in the major leagues with them. He played his final season in the big leagues in 2015 with the Toronto Blue Jays, with whom he rose through the coaching ranks.

Hague, 39, was the Blue Jays’ assistant hitting coach last season and was the hitting coach across Double-A and Triple-A from 2021 to 2023. With him now running the show in Pittsburgh, Hague noted the importance of using the resources available to get information to players in a way that is easy for them to process and how that approach helped him in Toronto.

“The hitting world can sometimes be a bit chaotic with how much information is put out into the world and being able to digest it.” Hague said. “I think you use all the resources, objective resources, experiences (and) player experiences to ultimately tell a story to a player in your words or try to tell a story in a simple form (and) in their simple hit language. They have to know that the source of that story is very well thought out. It’s a complex source, but you simply filter it into their language. With the Blue Jays and all the resources that were available, you were able to really unpack that complex source and be able to understand what that goes into the story of the individual player.”

The Pirates were among the league’s worst hitting teams last season, ranking 23rd in batting average, 24th in runs, 25th in home runs, 26th in on-base percentage and 27th in slugging percentage. Toronto fared slightly better, though injuries played a large role in its regression at the plate. The Blue Jays were 13th in on-base percentage, 19th in batting average, 20th in slugging percentage, 23rd in runs and 26th in home runs.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton noted how Hague is highly regarded around the league and by the players he previously coached.

“We are very excited to add Matt to our group as he brings a mix of both playing and coaching experience combined with really strong relationships,” Shelton said via press release. “The feedback we have received from players he has worked with in the past has been outstanding. We look forward to him leading our target audience forward.”

If Pirates will have a chance to snap their nine-year streak of missing the playoffs, they need to get a lot more out of their offense. Haag will ultimately play a big part in that in what will likely be a make-or-break season for Pittsburgh’s front office and coaching staff.

Be sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest Pittsburgh Pirates news, updates, interviews and insights