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Coaching Notes: Royals, Pirates, Diamondbacks

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Royals GM J.J. Picollo told reporters (including Anne Rogers of MLB.com) after the regular season came to a close that he expected that “most of the [coaching] staff” (including hitting coach Alec Zumwait) will return to Kansas City in 2026. At the time, he acknowledged that there might be some “tweaks” to the staff in hopes of getting the most out of the club’s players. Today, Picollo provided more details on those tweaks when he told Rogers that the Royals won’t renew the contracts of assistant hitting coaches Keoni DeRenne and Joe Dillon for the 2026 campaign.

DeRenne has been in the Royals organization since 2020 and has spent the past four seasons as the club’s assistant hitting coach. He previously coached in the Cubs and Pirates organizations at the minor league level. Dillon, meanwhile, has been an assistant hitting coach for the Royals in each of the past two seasons and has previously served as an assistant hitting coach for the Nationals and spent two years as the hitting coach for the Phillies in addition to time in the Nationals and Marlins organizations coaching at the minor league level. Picollo praised the pair’s work in Kansas City, telling Rogers that both are “really good, tireless workers” who will “end up in a good spot somewhere in the game.” The duo figure to have plenty of opportunities to catch on somewhere with so many teams changing managers this winter. Many of those new managers will look to make tweaks to their team’s coaching staff, which could benefit coaches like DeRenne and Dillon.

As for the Royals themselves, the departures of their assistant hitting coaches will create an opportunity to bring in fresh voices to complement Zumwait. Kansas City finished the season with a team-wide wRC of just 93, even in spite of strong performances from core pieces like Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, and Bobby Witt Jr. at the place. That’s because much of the club’s supporting cast disappointed in a big way, while some players counted on to be threats high in the batting order like Jonathan India and Jac Caglianone failed to produce. While the Royals might hope that a veteran like India can return to form on his own, a young player like Caglianone could surely benefit from the guidance that new members of the coaching staff could offer.

More from around the league’s coaching staffs…

  • Pirates hitting coach Matt Hague is expected to continue in his current role with the club, according to a report from Alex Stumpf of MLB.com earlier today. Hague, 40, spent part of three seasons as a big league player before starting his coaching career in 2020 as a minor league coach with the Blue Jays. He spent the 2024 season with Toronto in the big leagues as an assistant hitting coach, before getting hired away by Pittsburgh last offseason to serve as their primary hitting coach in the majors. Hague’s Pirates were the second-worst team in baseball by wRC+ this year as even well-regarded hitters like Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz took significant steps back at the plate. Even so, he’ll get another opportunity to guide the team’s offense in 2026, and with improving the lineup being a top priority for the Pirates this season he’ll hopefully have more talent to work with on the field next year.
  • The Diamondbacks are expecting to retain their 2025 coaching staff for next season, manager Torey Lovullo told Dave Burns and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports last week. Lovullo left the door open for some roles on the coaching staff to change even as the entire group is retained for the 2026 campaign, though he suggested that coaches will generally remain in their same role they had this season. While the Diamondbacks disappointed with an 80-82 record this year, it’s hard not to see how injuries to key players like Corbin Burnes, A.J. Puk, and Justin Martinez wound up significantly impacting the team for the worse, and it’s not impossible to imagine that the club could have squeaked its way into the postseason had core pieces like Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suarez, and Merrill Kelly not been traded at this year’s deadline. Evidently, that’s enough for Lovullo and GM Mike Hazen to feel comfortable sticking with their current staff for at least one more year.

Pirates To Hire Matt Hague As Hitting Coach

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The Pirates are hiring Matt Hague away from the Blue Jays to fill their vacant hitting coach position, reports Scott Mitchell of TSN. He served as Toronto’s assistant hitting coach in 2024.

Prior to his time on the Blue Jays’ major league staff, Hague served as the hitting coach at three minor league levels in Toronto’s system. The 39-year-old played in parts of three major league seasons  — all with the Jays and Pirates — but only appeared in 43 games and took just 91 plate appearances.

The Pirates drafted Hague in the ninth round back in 2008, and he played in parts of 10 minor league seasons in addition to a season in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and multiple stints in the Dominican Winter League. Though Hague never got much of a big league look, he posted a career .298/.376/.423 line in nearly 800 Triple-A games.

Hague departs one coaching staff that’s undergoing turnover in the hitting department for another. Toronto parted ways with lead hitting coach Guillermo Martinez in late September and hired David Popkins, who’d been the hitting coach in Minnesota but was also cut loose at season’s end, a few weeks later. The Pirates, meanwhile, dismissed hitting coach Andy Haines back on Oct. 2 after a three-year stint in that role.

Pirates fans looking to learn more about their new hitting coach will want to be sure to read David Laurila’s Q&A with Hague from this past July over at FanGraphs. The former corner infielder spoke thoughtfully about the differences between his perspective as a player and a coach, the ongoing battle hitters face in adapting to ever-changing pitch trends in the industry, and some of the technology he favors in helping hitters prepare for various paths of attack from opponents.

Ross Atkins Discusses Current State Of Blue Jays’ Roster

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Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins spoke to the media today as the club introduced recent signees Kevin Kiermaier and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Those comments were relayed by reporters including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportnet (X links), Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (X link) and Keegan Matheson of MLB.com (X links).

“We feel really good about the team that we have,” Atkins said, while acknowledging that further moves could still be forthcoming. “I don’t think we’ll add three players. I think, most likely, that it’s closer to one.” The forthcoming addition would “most likely be in the outfield or DH category, but we’re not limited to that.” When asked if their third baseman was already on the roster, he said that “We feel really good about the team that we have. Between [Santiago] Espinal, [Cavan] Biggio and Kiner-Falefa, we have opportunities to deploy different lineups and different players playing third base potentially.” Further moves could change the role for Kiner-Falefa but “There could be a pathway for him to get a lot of third base at-bats the way we’re currently constructed.”

All of this would seem to suggest that their likelihood of re-signing Matt Chapman is currently low, though some caveats apply. While Atkins suggested they are more focused on an outfield/DH addition, he did at least leave the door open by saying they are “not limited to that.” It’s also possible that this is a negotiating tactic, downplaying their interest in order to improve their leverage in contract talks.

If it does come to pass that Kiner-Falefa replaces Chapman in getting the bulk of the playing time at the hot corner, that would count as a notable downgrade for the club. Both are excellent defenders but IKF has a career batting line of just .261/.314/.346, which translates to a wRC+ of 81. Chapman, meanwhile, has hit .240/.329/.461 in his career for a wRC+ of 118. Kiner-Falefa could make up for that gap somewhat with his speed, having stolen 56 bases over the past three years, but Chapman is obviously the superior player overall. Kiner-Falefa has a career tally of 3.8 wins above replacement from FanGraphs, a figure that Chapman has topped in a single season on four occasions.

It seems the club is focused on run prevention, as both Kiner-Falefa and Kiermaier are defensive specialists, while hoping for greater offense from their incumbent players. “We feel like last year was just a blip in terms of run-scoring,” Atkins said today, per Matheson. Lineup regulars like George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk all had relative down years at the plate in 2023 and it seems like the club is expecting that group bouncing back to make up for the loss of Chapman’s bat.

If this is an honest assessment of the club’s current makeup and not mere posturing, it’s a bold gambit for the club to take. The offense was a bit underwhelming in 2023 and the lineup has since lost Chapman, Brandon Belt and Whit Merrifield. The club seemed focused on upgrading the lineup all winter, having been connected to big bats like Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Cody Bellinger and others. While Ohtani and Soto are off the board, Bellinger is still available, as are some other known targets. The club has been connected to DH-type players like Joc Pederson, Michael Brantley, Jorge Soler, Rhys Hoskins, J.D. Martinez, Joey Votto and Justin Turner. It seems at least one addition is still forthcoming but the Jays could be placing a lot of faith in a return to form from the aforementioned quartet.

It’s also possible that some internal improvements could come from elsewhere. Davis Schneider had a red hot debut in 2023 but cooled later in the year. He still finished with a batting line of .276/.404/.603 in his first 141 major league plate appearances, translating to a wRC+ of 176. He surely won’t be able to maintain that, but even some regression could perhaps see him bolster the lineup over a full season.

The club also got encouraging minor league performances, to varying degrees, from players like Spencer Horwitz, Damiano Palmegiani, Orelvis Martinez, Ernie Clement, Leo Jimenez, Addison Barger and Nathan Lukes. All of those players have either made their major league debut already or have reached Triple-A, making them plausible contributors to the 2024 club. A strong step forward from one or two guys in that group could quickly cut into IKF’s playing time. “I know the off-season isn’t done,” Kiner-Falefa said today, per Davidi. “I know are still going to be moves. I’m just ready to play everywhere.”

The club is clearly not done and it’s perhaps best to reserve judgement until later in the offseason, but it currently looks a bit odd. The Jays clearly set their sights high and it seemed as recently as a few weeks ago that they were committed to making a big splash to upgrade the lineup but now appear to have made a significant shift in how they are approaching their 2024 roster construction.

On another note, Atkins relayed that the Jays have added Matt Hague to their big league coaching staff as assistant hitting coach, per Nicholson-Smith. Hague played in 43 big league games between the Pirates and Blue Jays. He last appeared in the majors in 2015 but continued toiling away in the minors through 2018. For the past four years, he has been serving as a hitting coach in the minor leagues of the Jays’ system but will now get a chance to join a major league staff.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/19/18

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Here are some of the notable recent minor moves from around the league …

  • The Giants released outfielder-turned-pitcher Jordan Schafer, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Schafer had joined the San Francisco organization at the start of the current season in hopes of continuing his attempt to return to the majors on the mound. He had missed the prior campaign owing to Tommy John surgery. Schafer threw 6 1/3 innings at Triple-A prior to his release, allowing four earned runs on ten hits and five walks but also recording nine strikeouts.
  • Eddy also reports that the Nationals have released corner infielder Matt Hague from their Triple-A affiliate. The 32-year-old has seen brief action in three MLB campaigns, most recently in 2015. He had joined the Washington organization after being released by the Mariners in April. Over 112 plate appearances at Syracuse, he exhibited typically strong plate discipline (12 walks vs. 18 strikeouts) but was slashing just .242/.321/.323.
  • The Twins have cut ties with hard-throwing righty Zack Jones from Double-A Chattanooga, per the Eastern League transactions log. The former Rule 5 Draft pick had allowed just seven earned runs on ten hits through 25 1/3 innings thus far in 2018, racking up 39 strikeouts along the way. Unfortunately, the 27-year-old Jones has also handed out 25 walks this season. Over his seven minor-league seasons, he has recorded 12.9 K/9 against 5.5 BB/9, so the command issues represent a longstanding concern.

Mariners Release Josh Smith, Matt Hague; Assign Jayson Werth To Triple-A

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The Mariners have made a few transactions at their top affiliate, per Tacoma Rainiers announcer Mike Curto (via Twitter). Righty Josh Smith and infielder Matt Hague have both been released from the Triple-A roster, which now features outfielder Jayson Werth and just-acquired lefty Roenis Elias.

Seattle had inked both Smith and Hague to minors deals, but evidently felt the roster spots were better utilized on other assets. One of those is Werth, a 15-year MLB veteran who will be playing in his age-39 season. He has been working out at extended Spring Training but could now push toward the MLB roster if he shows well at Tacoma.

Smith, 30, compiled a 14:2 K/BB ratio in his 10 1/3 innings early this season, though he also allowed seven earned runs on 17 hits. In parts of three seasons in the majors, he carries a 5.30 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 127 1/3 innings. The 32-year-old Hague, meanwhile, is a right-handed hitter who primarily has lined up at first base as a professional. He was slashing an eyebrow-raising .226/.419/.264 through 74 plate appearances, with an unusual mix of only two extra base hits but 19 walks against just nine strikeouts.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/13/17

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We’ll keep track of some recent minor moves in this post…

  • Greg Johns of MLB.com reports in a tweet that the Mariners have signed 32-year-old first baseman Matt Hague to a minor-league deal. As Johns points out, Hague hit .297/.373/.414 with the Rochester Redwings this past season (the Triple-A affiliate of the Twins). He’s also spent time with the Pirates and Blue Jays, both of whom gave him opportunities at the major league level. Notably, Hague has walked in the minor league at nearly the same rate he’s struck out, though that skill set hasn’t translated to the majors as of yet.
  • The Mariners have also inked former Cubs farmhand John Andreoli to a minor league pact, Johns tweets, adding that the 27-year-old outfielder hit 14 homers for Triple-A Iowa last season to go along with a .244/.348/.435 slash line. Andreoli was the Cubs’ 17th-round selection in the 2011 draft. He’s walked at least 12% of the time in each of his three seasons with the Iowa Cubs, though his strikeout rate has risen noticeably in each of those seasons. Andreoli has yet to reach the MLB level.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/21/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • The Twins have signed corner infielder Matt Hague to a minor league deal, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. They also re-signed 1B/OF Reynaldo Rodriguez to a minor league deal. The 31-year-old Hague had a strong season with Triple-A Buffalo in the Blue Jays system in 2015, batting .338/.416/.468, and he’s generally hit well at the Triple-A level. In 2016, though, he struggled with Hanshin in Japan, batting .231/.339/.346 in 124 plate appearances. He’s collected a total of 91 career big-league plate appearances with the Jays and Pirates. The 29-year-old Rodriguez batted .220/.304/.329 for Triple-A Rochester in 2016, also serving an 80-game PED suspension. He has over 1,500 career plate appearances at Double-A and has established himself as a good hitter at that level, but his bat has never fully made the leap to Triple-A, and he’s never played in the Majors.
  • The White Sox have outrighted lefty Matt Purke, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. The White Sox designated Purke for assignment when they signed Derek Holland. Purke, a former first-round and third-round pick, posted a 5.50 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in his first 18 career big-league innings in 2016. He spent most of the season in the bullpen at Triple-A Charlotte, where he had a 3.52 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and a way-too-high 5.4 BB/9 over 38 1/3 innings.
  • Veteran lefty Travis Blackley has announced via Twitter that he’s signed a deal with the Tigers, presumably of the minor league variety. (Hat tip to Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group for the tip.) Last season, the 34-year-old Blackley pitched for Puebla in the Mexican League, posting a 3.92 ERA, 5.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 over 110 1/3 innings as a starter. Since last pitching in the big leagues in 2013 (when he appeared with the Astros and Rangers), Blackley has also pitched for the Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan, for the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs in the US, and for Brisbane in his native Australia.

Matt Hague Signs With Hanshin Tigers

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NOVEMBER 30: The deal is official, Hague himself announced on Twitter.

NOVEMBER 25: The Blue Jays have reached an agreement with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball that will send Triple-A International League MVP Matt Hague to Hanshin in exchange for $300K, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The deal isn’t yet complete, according to Nicholson-Smith, but Hague has been removed from Toronto’s 40-man roster.

In situations such as this, the money exchanged will typically serve as compensation for the team’s agreement to release the player, who is then free to sign a new, more lucrative contract with the overseas club. It’s not clear what type of contract Hague will receive in Japan, but he’ll certainly earn more than he would have with another up-and-down season with a Major League organization and could very well secure $1MM or more.

Hague, 30, had the best all-around Triple-A season of his career in 2015, batting .338/.416/.468 with 11 home runs in 596 plate appearances. While the home runs were shy of his previous career-highs, he’s never hit for the type of average or gotten on base at that lofty a rate previously. Hague split his time evenly between first base and third base this past season but has a good deal more experience playing first base in his career as a whole.

The Blue Jays claimed Hague off waivers from the Pirates in 2014 based on the strength of his Triple-A numbers, but while he continued his excellent minor league production with Toronto, he received just 15 plate appearances on a Major League club rife with potent corner options (most notably Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion but also Chris Colabello, Justin Smoak and, earlier in the season, Danny Valencia as well). Hague is a career .226/.286/.262 hitter in a small sample of 91 Major League plate appearances but has a far more robust triple-slash of .302/.377/.433 across parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level.

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