It's more than fair to be dissatisfied with how the Pirates' offense has performed. Regardless of how you want to evaluate a team's offensive output -- runs, batting average, OPS, wRC+ -- the Pirates rank near the bottom of the sport in almost every category that matters.
That doesn't guarantee they'll make a change at hitting coach.
Andy Haines has been under fire in the public eye for most of this season because of his hitters' overall performance, but signs are pointing to him returning in 2023. Simply put, the front office knew this was going to be a challenging year and, while that certainly doesn't give him unquestioned job security, it did give him some leeway for this season. Leeway to give rookies time to adjust to the major-league game, not just a couple months while adjusting to the top competition in the world.
But what if the Pirates wanted to make a change?
Finding a replacement would be harder than one might think.
Ben Cherington gave a public endorsement of Derek Shelton recently, saying he expects him to be back next year. A report earlier in the year from Ken Rosenthal stated that Shelton signed a four-year deal in 2019, so 2023 is the last season on his original contract. If the Pirates were to theoretically move on from Haines, they would be on the market for their third hitting coach in three years, this time with every candidate knowing the manager is going to be on a hot seat. By extension, they would more or less be on the hot seat, too. It's not exactly an easy sell even before you get to the other challenges coaching for a low-revenue team brings, like payroll.
Ideally, Haines would become the hitting version of Oscar Marin, who also got off to a slow start as the team's pitching coach.
When you look at the number of pitchers who have taken a noticeable step forward this year -- Mitch Keller, JT Brubaker, David Bednar, Wil Crowe, Roansy Contreras, Yerry De Los Santos and the revival of José Quintana -- it's understandable why the Pirates are pleased with the direction they're trending on the pitching side, even if there is still plenty of work to be done. Getting more talented young pitchers will go a long way, and there should be several up next year, like Mike Burrows and Quinn Priester.
Marin was aided by the hirings of two good coaches this winter in Dewey Robinson and Radley Haddad, helping bolster the pitching team. Doing the same for the hitting team could go a long way as the major-league roster starts welcoming a wave of top prospects to the majors next season.
This was my Q&A with Haines in Philadelphia a few days ago.
MORE PIRATES
2. Also in Philadelphia, Ke'Bryan Hayes and his dad, Charlie Hayes, had a cool father-son moment Sunday when Charlie threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Ke'Bryan. Charlie was with the Phillies from 1989-91 and 1995, and was a spring training instructor for them for many years after he hung up the cleats, so there was a special relationship there. Charlie also has ties to New York, where he caught the final out of the 1996 World Series, so he and Ke'Bryan will again do a ceremonial first pitch when the Pirates travel to Yankee Stadium later this month. -- Stumpf
3. He was optioned back to the minors again this week, but Cam Vieaux got a very necessary second look in the majors. The last outing of his first big-league stint was the 56-pitch debacle on July 1, one of the worst and potentially most dangerous outings for a pitcher this year. When he was sent back to the minors, that outing was motivation for the lefty, who was not going to let that be his last major-league outing. "I probably heard about it every single day that I was down there," Vieaux told me at Citizens Bank Park. "It was definitely fuel to get back up here." -- Stumpf
4. When the Pirates traded Jacob Stallings, they lost plenty of defensive intangibles, including pitch framing. Tyler Heineman and Jason Delay have both improved in that department as the year has progressed, with Baseball Savant tracking the former at +3 runs saved and the latter at +1. As a team, the Pirates have actually gone from 0 runs saved to +3 in this department. Credit bullpen catcher Jordan Comadena for helping them develop this part of their game despite spending the first half of the season scrambling to find catching help. -- Stumpf
5. Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, is going to be headed to the Arizona Fall League after the minor-league season with Class AA Altoona. The Pirates have wanted to put him on a developmental fast-track, but a couple of freak injuries have interfered with that. This is a way to make up for some lost time against high-level competition. -- Stumpf
6. An American League scout in whom I've trusted forever told me this week in Milwaukee he doesn't envision Davis staying behind the plate. That'd been the book on him in college -- spectacular arm but a lot of work to do defensively -- and the specifics I got from this scout, which I won't share, solidified that for me more than anything I'd learned previously. Davis is already being asked to play the outfield just this week in Altoona and, while that's being downplayed as -- as Alex just mentioned -- trying to make up for lost time with more at-bats than a catcher would get, it isn't escaping anyone's notice that Endy Rodriguez, also a catcher and a good one, has shot up the Pirates' prospect outlooks. -- Dejan Kovacevic
7. Everything's about Altoona. Everything, everything, everything. And know that I'm not guessing at this. That class is it. ... Unless, of course, it isn't. Which it'd better be. -- Kovacevic
STEELERS
8. Larry Ogunjobi and Dan Moore both wore 65 in the preseason. But they can't do that during the regular season. Ogunjobi, who was still wearing No. 65 in practice this week, told me he plans to switch to No. 99 next week. That number had been worn by Henry Mondeaux until his release earlier this week. Mondeaux might still make it back to the Steelers' practice squad, but he'll need a new number when he returns. -- Dale Lolley on the South Side
9. The change at 99 wasn't the only one that was made this week. John Leglue wore 77 last season and throughout training camp. But when the Steelers released Leglue and then traded with the Vikings to acquire offensive lineman Jesse Davis, he claimed 77, the number he had worn with the Dolphins for the past five seasons. Leglue signed back to the team's practice squad a day after his release, but had to change numbers. Such is life in the NFL. -- Lolley
10. T.J. Watt wasn't happy with the cut block by T.J. Hockenson in the preseason finale that nearly injured him. But he understands those blocks are legal and thus part of the game. "It's a legal play, so there's not much we can do at this moment," Watt said Wednesday. He wasn't happy about it and let Hockenson know it at the time, though it never got heated. But tight end Pat Freiermuth might want to hide the Hockenson jersey he has hanging in his locker after trading jerseys with the Lions tight end following last Sunday's game. -- Lolley
11. The Steelers liked both Mark Gilbert and Jamir Jones last season. But both were snatched away from the team, Gilbert off the practice squad by the Lions in Week 8, Jones after he was released from the active roster after Week 3 with the intention of placing him on the practice squad. And that is why teams can't hide players they like on the practice squad. They're available for anyone to sign. And a player would be foolish to not accept the offer to be on another team's active roster. -- Lolley
12. The Steelers did get some calls regarding Mason Rudolph, but none of the offers were enough to pry Rudolph loose. The going rate for non-starting players in this cycle of trading seemed to be sixth- and seventh-round picks. That wasn't enough to entice the Steelers to trade Rudolph, nor should it have been. -- Lolley
13. The Guardian Caps got a lot of publicity in the offseason as all teams -- at least high-contact players -- were required to wear them during minicamp and through the first two preseason games. Two Steelers have continued to wear the Guardian Caps despite it no longer being required. Guard James Daniels continued to wear his, while right tackle Chuks Okorafor was back wearing the device this past week. The Guardian Caps are said to reduce concussions by 10 percent. -- Lolley
14. The Steelers don't have to come out with an official depth chart until next week when they release their first one of the regular season early next week. Mitch Trubisky has been atop the team's depth chart all offseason and was on the team's only depth chart it released in the preseason. Mike Tomlin could list Trubisky and Kenny Pickett as his starter to continue to play games with the Bengals, but the guess here is that he'll simply list Trubisky as the starter. -- Lolley
15. Devin Bush needs to play better than in 2021, and no one, Bush included, would dispute that. But a terrific conversation I had this past week with both Bush and Myles Jack, his new partner at inside linebacker, left the powerful impression that the former's immensely benefiting from having the latter around, on and off the field. These two were finishing each other's sentences, borderline gleefully. Neat to see. -- Kovacevic
PENGUINS
16. The Penguins have finished inside the top-10 NHL teams in all-situations goals share during every season of Mike Sullivan’s seven-year tenure as head coach, aside from the 2017-18 season when they ranked No. 12. They’ve finished inside the top 10 in all-situations expected-goals share every season under Sullivan except for the 2018-19 and 2020-21 seasons when they checked in at No. 12 and No. 14, respectively. Sullivan isn’t a perfect coach — no coach is — but it’s a shame he hasn’t received more Jack Adams love as the NHL’s best coach throughout his tenure. His true impact will always be at least somewhat shadowed by his privilege of coaching Sidney Crosby. It certainly hasn’t helped his case that he hasn’t had his starting goaltender go on any legitimate Vezina runs during his time, either. -- Danny Shirey
17. Not that it was a giant secret to begin with, but it spoke volumes of Sullivan’s character and ability to lead when I asked him what qualities and traits make him so successful as a head coach … and the only thing he had to say regarded the rest of his coaching staff and their willingness to squeeze the best out of him. Sullivan said it himself: It’s all about the people and the relationships you build with them. The stronger those relationships become, the better the franchise’s environment and culture becomes. -- Shirey
18. Considering the Penguins’ salary cap restraints — it seemed unlikely to begin with — Evan Rodrigues isn’t expected to return to the Penguins, per a league source. With training camp right around the corner, Rodrigues might be forced to sign a less than ideal contract, but even if his cap hit checks in exactly the same as last season at $1 million, the Penguins would struggle to clear the money for him without risking the loss of a potentially impactful player (or players) to waivers. -- Shirey
19. Players have started to arrive back in town and participate in informal skates at the Lemieux Complex. Earlier this week, I saw Jeff Petry, Jeff Carter, Kasperi Kapanen and Chad Ruhwedel all taking part in a skate. Rickard Rakell arrived in town late this week and will likely join the group after he gets settled with his wife, newborn daughter and two dogs. The sessions are very informal, with no coaches and no goalies. Players lead themselves through drills and shoot on a shooter tutor, the board that covers the face of the net with openings on the edges for pucks. -- Taylor Haase in Cranberry, Pa.
20. It hasn't been announced yet, but I've been told that (now former) goaltending prospect Alex D'Orio signed with Björklöven in the Allsvenskan, the second Swedish league. D'Orio, 23, was a restricted free agent who didn't receive a qualifying offer from the Penguins. He knew by midseason that he'd be looking for other opportunities this summer after receiving minimal playing time. After a strong 2020-21 season that saw D'Orio take over as Wilkes-Barre's starter by the end of the year, he struggled last season amidst a string of injuries and illnesses, like an ear infection and a tough bout of COVID. He was never able to find his footing. The plan is to go to Sweden for a fresh start and regular playing time, then return to North America strong again. -- Haase
21. The people at Fenway Sports Group, and I'm talking at the very top, love Sullivan. That's been palpable from the outset, and it couldn't have been more obvious than back in January when, in the head coach's native Boston, where FSG also owns the Red Sox, Tom Werner and a bunch of others took him out to dinner after a daytime practice. I covered that trip, and nothing resonated from it quite like the sight of Werner waiting patiently for Sullivan to finish his media session so they could all get going. -- Kovacevic
