Hitting coach Keith Beauregard won’t be returning to the Tigers next year, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. His contract ran through 2025 and he has now decided to leave to pursue new opportunities in baseball.
For the past three seasons, the Tigers have had both Beauregard and Michael Brdar serving as hitting coaches. James Rowson worked alongside those two as an assistant in 2023, but he moved on and was replaced by Lance Zawadzki heading into 2024.
The Tigers were stuck in a rebuild at the time the Beauregard/Brdar duo was brought aboard. It’s always tough to parse how much credit goes to coaches or the players on the team, but for what it’s worth, Beauregard and Brdar oversaw the club as they emerged from a lengthy rebuild. The Tigers had a collective .236/.305/.382 line in 2023. That translated to a wRC+ of 89, putting them ahead of just four other clubs in the majors. The club jumped to a .234/.300/.385 line and 94 wRC+ last year, followed by a .247/.316/.413 line and 103 wRC+ in 2025.
Petzold suggests that Brdar and Zawadzki could stick around without Beauregard, but that doesn’t seem to be definite. Petzold notes that those two, like Beauregard, had contracts running through 2025. Even if they are staying, it’s unclear if the Tigers would hire someone to replace Beauregard or just let those two run the hitting department. There will be at least one other coaching change in Detroit, as it has been previously reported that first base coach Anthony Iapoce won’t be back next year.
There is going to be a high amount of turnover on coaching staffs this offseason. There are always a few moves and this winter could crank it up because of the unusually high number of managerial changes. Ten clubs are going to begin 2026 with a different manager than they had on Opening Day 2025. New managers often make a few coaching changes, either by bringing in a few of their own guys or just by taking things in new directions.
Beauregard, 42, could look to find a new gig as that game of musical chairs plays out. He started his coaching career in the college ranks before getting hired by the Dodgers to work in the minor leagues a few years ago. Getting hired by the Tigers three years ago was his first move to a big league staff.
Image courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
I believe it would only be fair if Beauregard shared a few vowels with Brdar. Worst case scenario, Brdar could buy a vowel.
That’s called a vowel movement.
I like that one!
Or he could disregard your beau suggestion. 😉
It was only a beau jest…
If he’s looking for another hitting coach job, maybe the he’d be amenable to joining the Angels? They desperately need someone to teach the team some fundamentals that were forgotten over the last couple years.
Maybe. Just don’t expect the Angels to learn how to hit sliders.
MLBTR Poll asking which 35+ HR hitter should the Angels trade…….
@saber The answer is Ward, but they won’t. They’ll let him walk at the end of 2026 for nothing.
Not surprising. Players go FA, and sometimes coaches do as well. Few staffs stay intact year after year. Despite the Tigers offensive slide at the end of last year he appears to well regarded. Wish him luck in the future. I suspect the Tigers are already working on his replacement.
Yeah get rid of the coaches. That’ll solve it.
@Charles B
“His contract ran through 2025 and he has now decided to leave to pursue new opportunities in baseball.”
Explain to me how the Tigers got rid of him.
Isn’t that essentially the same line? How did they “jump” to it?
The Tigers had a collective .236/.305/.382 line in 2023. That translated to a wRC+ of 89, putting them ahead of just four other clubs in the majors. The club jumped to a .234/.300/.385 line and 94 wRC+ last year,
I followed the Tigers very closely this season, and I’d have been surprised if there WASN’T a lot of turnover in coaching. In the first half of the year, their hitting coaches got a tremendous about of credit for the players’ pre-game preparation. When their offense fell apart the second half of the season, I figured either (a) some coaches were wrongly getting that credit, or (b) an approach that was working in the first half no longer was and the hitting coaches had to counter.
It’s always opaque what role the hitting coaches play, and how much credit/blame should be on then. But when the collective “hitting coach game” when from lauded to a constant question mark for the second half suggested to me what had previously worked was no longer working, or credit had given earlier when some of it may not have been deserved.