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Keith Beauregard Won’t Return To Tigers’ Coaching Staff

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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

Tigers Hire Michael Brdar And Keith Beauregard As Hitting Coaches

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The Tigers announced a batch of additions to their coaching staff, including Michael Brdar as major league hitting coach, Keith Beauregard as major league hitting coach, James Rowson as assistant major league hitting coach, Robin Lund as assistant major league pitching coach and Ryne Eubanks as head athletic trainer.

Brdar, 28, has proven to be a popular name for coaching positions in his young career. As a player, he was drafted by the Cardinals in 2017 and got some action at rookie ball that year. That was the end of his playing days, with Brdar then joining the University of Michigan, where he played college ball, as a coach. He followed that up by getting hired as the Giants’ minor league hitting coordinator.

One year ago, he was hired away from the Giants by the Padres, who made him hitting coach at the major league level. After one season in San Diego, he’ll now head back to the state of his alma mater. The Tigers’ new president of baseball operations Scott Harris was general manager of the Giants until recently, meaning he presumably was aware of Brdar’s work in that organization. Joining Brdar as hitting coach for the Tigers will be Keith Beauregard, who had previously been coaching in the Dodgers’ system. Those two will be joined by James Rowson, who had been working as bench coach for the Marlins and has had some interest for managerial openings in recent years.

Hitting will likely be a key focus for the club after that was a huge weakness for them in 2022. Just about every player in the lineup underperformed at the plate, from veterans to prospects. As a collective, Detroit hitters produced a batting line of .231/.286/.346. The resulting 81 wRC+ indicates they were 19% below league average, the worst such mark in the majors. Their 110 home runs were also dead last by a significant margin, as the Guardians were 29th with 127. For a team that entered 2022 with aspirations of ending their rebuild and competing for a playoff spot, those results were disappointing to say the least.

The Padres will now have a vacancy in their own hitting coach position, though Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Ryan Flaherty is expected to take over the role. Flaherty played in the big leagues from 2012 to 2019 but has since transitioned into the coaching side of the game. The Padres hired him as quality control coach going into 2020 and he has remained with the club since then. The Mets tried to pry him away to be their bench coach a year ago, though the Padres denied their request to interview him.

Padres To Hire Michael Brdar As Hitting Coach

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The Padres are hiring Michael Brdar as hitting coach, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter link). Robert Murray of FanSided reported earlier in the evening that San Diego had targeted Brdar as a candidate.

Brdar, rather incredibly, lands a big league hitting coach job at just 27 years of age. An infielder at the University of Michigan during his playing days, his professional career consisted of just 31 games with the Cardinals’ rookie ball affiliate in 2017. Brdar clearly impressed those around the game with his communication skills and understanding of the craft, though. After his playing days wrapped up, he spent a couple seasons on the Michigan coaching staff before taking over as the Giants’ minor league hitting coordinator.

That rapid ascent will continue with Brdar landing his first job on a big league staff. He’ll lead a Padres’ offensive core that’s among the most talented in the league but didn’t quite live up its to potential in 2021. San Diego hitters (excluding pitchers) posted a .249/.330/.413 line this past season. After accounting for their pitcher-friendly home park, that checked in about three percentage points above the league average, but it was still just 12th among the league’s 30 teams. For a Padres team entered the year with legitimate World Series aspirations, that registered as something of a disappointment.

There’s been plenty of turnover on the San Diego coaching staff, none more notable than the ousting of manager Jayce Tingler. Veteran skipper Bob Melvin came over from the A’s to assume the managerial role in San Diego, and Tingler’s staff was given the opportunity to explore other positions elsewhere. Damion Easley — who has spent the past two seasons as Friars’ hitting coach — is expected to depart the organization to become the Diamondbacks’ assistant hitting coach, reports Dennis Lin of the Athletic (Twitter link). He’ll work alongside incoming Arizona hitting coach Joe Mather.

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